CN106244415B

CN106244415B - Swing-free case for conveying cell and tissue slice

Info

Publication number: CN106244415B
Application number: CN201610390564.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 濑川志朗
Original assignee: Takigen Manufacturing Co Ltd
Current assignee: Takigen Manufacturing Co Ltd
Priority date: 2015-06-04
Filing date: 2016-06-03
Publication date: 2020-05-19
Anticipated expiration: 2036-06-03
Also published as: CN110106065A; CN106244415A; JP6580376B2; JP2016220658A; TWI627272B; TW201708531A

Abstract

A swing-free case for transporting a cell or tissue piece, wherein a main case (C1) includes a container holder (11), a guide (12), and a support device (13), the guide (11) has a spherical surface extending from the lower side of the container holder (12) to the side over the entire circumference, the support device (13) is configured by a plurality of free roller bearings (130) that contact the spherical surface of the guide (12) and can rotate in all directions, and the container holder (11) is supported so as not to swing by the relative movement between the support device (13) and the container holder (11) against an external force acting in the swing direction of the main case (C1).

Description

Swing-free case for conveying cell and tissue slice

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a swing-free case for transporting cells and tissue pieces, which is used when transporting cells such as iPS cells using a vehicle or other various transport means.

Background

The clinical research of domestic regenerative medicine is accelerated due to the advent of iPS cells, and research and development on culture and differentiation are rapidly promoted at present. In addition, recently, iPS cells are delivered to research institutions and companies in a living state without being frozen, and thus, the labor for thawing and the like is eliminated, and improvement in efficiency is expected.

However, when iPS cells are delivered as living bodies without freezing them, the iPS cells are put in a container such as a petri dish (japanese: シャーレ) and then transported by a vehicle or the like, but in this case, it is required to transport the cells in a state where the activity is maintained without damaging the living cells, and temperature management, gas (oxygen, carbon dioxide) management, protection from external force such as vibration during transportation, and the like are required.

Such a container for cell transport is mentioned in Japanese patent JP 2014-83002A. The container described in this document includes an atmosphere control agent and a cell container having a barrier film which is permeable to gas but substantially impermeable to liquid, and which can transport and/or store cells without applying stress to the cells. In addition, the container may be provided with an attachment portion and a swing mechanism portion for holding the cell storage container. In this case, the mounting portion is provided in the closed vessel and can hold the cell, and the swing mechanism portion supports the mounting portion so as to be swingable with respect to the inner wall surface of the closed vessel and can stably hold the cell, the culture medium, and other contents. In addition, the container may be provided with a temperature control mechanism and an impact buffering mechanism.

However, in the container described in the above document, since the cell storage container is held by the mounting portion and the mounting portion is supported by the swing mechanism so as to be swingable, for example, when the container is transported by an automobile, the container swings due to the swing during the running of the automobile, and there is a problem as follows: the culture medium of iPS cells in the container fluctuates, and the iPS cells may float and be destroyed by the impact of the fluctuated culture medium.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention has been made to solve the above-described conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a non-swinging casing for conveying cells and tissue pieces, which can prevent cell destruction caused by shaking and falling during conveyance when conveying cells such as iPS cells using a vehicle or other various conveyance means.

In order to achieve the above object, a swing-free case for transporting a cell or tissue piece according to the present invention includes: a container holder for holding a container for storing cells and tissue pieces horizontally; a guide member attached to the container holder and supporting the container holder; and a support device that supports the container holder by the guide, one of the guide and the support device having a spherical surface extending from at least a lower portion of the container holder to a side of the container holder over a full circumference thereof, and the other of the guide and the support device being configured by a plurality of free roller bearings that are in contact with the spherical surface and are rotatable in all directions, wherein the container holder is supported so as not to swing by a relative movement between the support device and the container holder with respect to an external force acting in a swinging direction of the support device and the container holder.

The swing-free case for transporting the cell or tissue piece is further embodied in the following manner.

(1) The vessel holder is composed of a support plate for supporting the vessel, a pressing plate for pressing the vessel from above, and a screw device screwed between the support plate and the pressing plate.

(2) The guide is formed of a hermetically sealed housing member having at least a spherical bottom surface, in which a container holder is disposed, and a shaft insertion portion is provided at a lowest point of the bottom surface, the container holder is disposed in the guide, a shaft protruding from a center of a lower portion of the container holder passes through the shaft insertion portion to integrate the container holder with the guide, and a weight is attached to a lower end of the shaft, and the support device includes: a plurality of free roller bearings supporting the bottom surface of the housing member at multiple points; and a mounting base for disposing the free roller bearings in contact with the bottom surface of the guide.

In this case, it is preferable that the mounting base includes a mounting base and a plurality of free roller bearing mounting portions provided upright on the mounting base.

(3) The guide is composed of a plurality of free roller bearings, each of which is mounted to the bottom surface of the container holder so as to face downward, and the support device includes: a closed shell member having at least a spherical bottom surface and capable of containing the container holder; and a mounting base for disposing the housing member on a bottom surface side of the container holder so as to be in contact with the free roller bearings.

In this case, it is preferable that the mounting base includes: arranging a base; a coil spring interposed between the center of the setting base and the center of the bottom surface of the housing member; and a plurality of buffer members interposed between the setting base and the housing member around the coil spring.

The swing-free case for transporting a cell or tissue piece according to the present invention comprises: a guide member attached to a container holder for holding a container for storing cells and tissue pieces horizontally, and supporting the container holder; and a support device for supporting the container holder via a guide, wherein one of the guide and the support device has a spherical surface extending from at least a lower portion of the container holder to a side of the container holder over a full circumference thereof, and the other of the guide and the support device is constituted by a plurality of free roller bearings in contact with the spherical surface and rotatable in all directions, and the container holder can be supported so as not to swing by a relative movement between the support device and the container holder against an external force acting in a swinging direction of the support device and the container holder, therefore, when cells such as iPS cells are transported by using vehicles or other various transport means, the remarkable effect of the present invention is to reduce the fluctuation of the culture medium of the cells in the container due to the shaking during transportation as much as possible, thereby preventing the destruction of the cells.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a front view showing the structure of a swing-free case for transporting a cell or tissue piece according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a front view showing an operation of the non-swing case of fig. 1.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing the structure of a swing-free case for transporting a cell or tissue piece according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 4 is a front view showing an operation of the non-swing case of fig. 3.

(symbol description)

C1 cell and tissue slice conveying swing-free shell (main shell)

11 Container holder

111 support plate

112 screw insertion hole

113 pressing plate

114 screw insertion hole

115 screw device

116 screw

117 nut

118 shaft

119 balance weight (sliding weight)

12 guide piece

121 lower casing

122 upper shell

123 Ring

124 ring

125 groove

126O-ring

127 fastener

a fixed substrate

b operating lever

c Movable body

D hook hanging frame (Japanese leading hanging け)

e bearing piece (Japanese receiver)

128-shaft insertion part

129 sealed tube

13 support device

130 free roller bearing

f shell

g ball

h-shaped cap

131 mounting base

132 setting base

133 free roller bearing mount

134 mounting frame

1341 support post

1342 support post

1343 hinge

1344 position limiter

s0 slit

s1 locking part

s2 locking hole

s3 locking member

s31 projection

1345 arm

135 installation shaft

136 spiral spring (spring component)

137 free roller bearing mounting arm

Plate in the center of P1

P2 arm

C2 cell and tissue slice conveying swing-free shell (main shell)

21 Container holder

211 support plate

212 screw insertion hole

213 pressing plate

214 screw insertion hole

215 screw device

216 screw

217 nut

22 guide piece

220 free roller bearing

f shell

g ball

h-shaped cap

23 support device

23A casing

231 lower casing

232 upper shell

233 ring

234 Ring

235 groove

236O-ring

237 fastener

238 engaging part

239 mounting part

23B mounting base

241 setting base

241a engaging part

241b mounting part

242 coil spring

243 buffer

S container

M vehicle

M1 wagon box

Detailed Description

Next, an embodiment for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Fig. 1 shows a first embodiment.

As shown in fig. 1, the swing-free case C1 for transporting a cell or tissue piece (hereinafter, may be referred to as a main case C1 in the description of the first embodiment) includes: a container holder 11 for holding a container for storing cells and tissue pieces horizontally in the container holder 11; a guide 12 attached to the container holder 11 and supporting the container holder 11, the guide 12 being provided with a guide hole; and a support device 13, wherein the support device 13 supports the container holder 11 through the guide 12.

The vessel holder 11 is composed of a support plate 111 for supporting the vessel, a pressing plate 113 for pressing the vessel from above, and a screw device 115 screwed between the support plate 111 and the pressing plate 113.

In this case, the support plate 111 is a circular plate having a predetermined outer diameter, and four screw insertion holes 112 are formed at 90-degree intervals in the outer peripheral edge portion of the support plate 111. The pressing plate 113 is a circular plate having a predetermined outer diameter slightly larger than the support plate 111, and four screw insertion holes 114 are formed at 90-degree intervals on the outer peripheral side of the pressing plate 113 so as to correspond to the screw insertion holes 112 of the support plate 111. The screw means 115 is constituted by four sets of screws 116 and nuts 117. In this way, the vessel in which the cells and tissue pieces are accommodated is supported by the support plate 111, and the vessel is pressed from above the vessel by the pressing plate 113, and the screws 116 are inserted through the screw insertion holes 112 of the support plate 111 and the screw insertion holes 114 of the pressing plate 113, and the screws 116 and the nuts 117 are fastened to the pressing plate 113, whereby the vessel can be clamped by the support plate 111 and the pressing plate 113.

Further, in the container holder 11, a shaft 118 protrudes from the center of the lower portion of the container holder 11, and a weight 119 (weight) is hung on the shaft 118. In this case, the shaft 118 is formed by connecting two shafts, and the shaft 118 passes through a shaft insertion portion formed at the center of the pressing plate 113 and the supporting plate 111 of the container holder 11 from the side of the pressing plate 113, and is fixed to the pressing plate 113 at one end by a nut 117 and protrudes downward from the supporting plate 111 at the other end. One or more weights 119 are detachably attached to the lower end of the shaft 118 by screws or the like. Thus, the container holder 11 is disposed in a guide 12 described later, and the weight 119 below the container holder 11 is oriented in the direction of gravity, thereby obtaining the level of the container holder 11.

The guide 12 has a spherical surface extending from at least the lower side of the container holder 11 toward the entire lateral periphery of the container holder 12.

The guide 12 is a closed shell member having at least a spherical bottom surface and capable of housing the container holder 11, and in this case, is constituted by a shell body which is divided into two parts along the upper and lower sides and is formed into a spherical body as a whole, and includes a hemispherical lower shell 121 having an opening on the upper surface and a hemispherical upper shell 122 having an opening on the lower surface. The lower case 121 and the upper case 122 are provided with rings 123 and 124 over the entire periphery of their respective opening inner peripheral edges so as to be in contact with each other, or over one of the rings, and in this case, a groove 125 is formed over the entire periphery of the upper surface of the ring 123 on the lower case 121 side, and an O-ring 126 is fitted into the groove 125, whereby the lower case 121 and the upper case 122 are hermetically coupled to each other. A plurality of (in this case, four) fastening pieces 127 are attached at predetermined intervals (in this case, 90-degree intervals) in the circumferential direction between the coupling portions of the lower case 121 and the upper case 122, and these fastening pieces 127 are used to fasten and couple the lower case 121 and the upper case 122. The fastener 127 is generally known as a general-purpose article, and includes a fixed base plate a, a movable body c having a lever b at a tip thereof and pivotally supported on the fixed base plate a, a hook frame d having a substantially U-shape and pivotally supported at a portion closer to the lever b than a pivotal supporting point of the movable body c, a hook receiver e having a hook shape (an inverted L-shape) pivotally supported on an outer surface of the movable body c closer to the lever b than the pivotal supporting point of the movable body c, the fixed base plate a being attached to an outer surface of the upper case 122 closer to an outer peripheral edge of an opening by a fastener such as a screw, the movable body c being rotatably attached between a coupling portion of the upper case 122 and the lower case 121 by the fixed base plate a, and the receiver e being attached to an outer surface of the lower case 121 closer to the outer peripheral edge of the opening by a fastener such as a screw. In this way, the

housings

121 and 122 of the upper and lower portions are coupled with the ring portions 123 and 124 aligned with each other, and in the above state, the operating lever b is lifted up to rotate the movable body c in a direction of being pulled away from the fixed board a, and the hook frame d is rotated toward the receiver e to hook the hook frame d to the receiver e, and in this state, the operating lever b is pressed down to rotate the movable body c toward the fixed board a, and the hook frame d hooked to the receiver e is pulled (toward the upper housing 122 side) by the movable body c, so that the

housings

121 and 122 of the upper and lower portions are fastened and held in a sealed state by the pulling force of the hook frame d.

Further, a shaft insertion portion 128 is provided at the center of the bottom surface of the lower case 121 of the guide 12, that is, at the lowest point of the bottom surface of the lower case 121. A sealing tube 129 is also inserted into the shaft insertion portion 128, and the sealing tube 129 seals a space between the shaft insertion portion 128 and the shaft 118 inserted through the shaft insertion portion 128.

In this way, container holder 11 is disposed in lower case 121 of guide 12, shaft 118 projecting from the lower center of container holder 11 passes through shaft insertion portion 128 of lower case 121 to integrate container holder 11 and guide 12, and weight 119 is attached to the lower end of shaft 118. Further, as described above, the upper case 122 is airtightly coupled to the lower case 121, and the above state is maintained by the respective fasteners 127.

The support device 13 is constituted by a plurality of free roller bearings 130 that are in contact with the spherical surface of the guide 12 and are rotatable in all directions.

The support device 13 includes: a plurality of (four in this case) free roller bearings 130 that support the top surface of the guide 12, that is, the outer surface of the top surface side of the upper housing 122, at multiple points (four points in this case); a plurality of (four in this case) free roller bearings 130 that support the bottom surface of the guide 12, that is, the outer surface of the bottom surface side of the lower case 121, at multiple points (four points in this case); and a mounting base 131, the mounting base 131 being disposed on the top surface and the bottom surface of the guide 12 so as to be in contact with each other by the roller bearings 130.

The free roller bearing 130 is generally known as a general-purpose article, and includes a housing f having a hemispherical concave surface, balls g rotatably disposed on the hemispherical concave surface of the housing f, a cap h covering the hemispherical concave surface of the housing f and holding the balls g, and the like, and the balls g are rotatable in all directions in the housing f.

The mounting base 131 includes: a base 132 is provided; a plurality of (four in this case) free roller bearing mounting portions 133, the free roller bearing mounting portions 133 being disposed at a predetermined height of the installation base 132 at equal intervals from the center of the installation base 132; a mounting frame 134 that is vertically provided in a gate shape at a prescribed height of the setting base 132 higher than the roller bearing mounting portions 133, respectively; and a plurality of (four in this case) free roller bearing mounting arms 137, and these free roller bearing mounting arms 137 are attached to the upper portion of the mounting frame 134 via a mounting shaft 135 and a spring member 136 so as to be vertically extendable and retractable, and extend in a plurality of directions at equal intervals. In this case, the frame having an L-shaped cross section provided with the base 132 is assembled into a substantially rectangular shape, and the whole is slightly larger than the outer periphery of the guide. Each free roller bearing mounting portion 133 is formed of a substantially コ -shaped frame having a predetermined height, has a free roller bearing mounting surface on the upper portion thereof, on which the free roller bearing 130 can be mounted obliquely upward, and is provided at the center of each of the front, rear, left, and right frames fixed to the installation base 132. The free roller bearings 130 are mounted on the roller bearing mounting surfaces of the free roller bearing mounting portions 133 so that the rollers are oriented obliquely upward. The mounting frame 134 is composed of a pair of

support posts

1341, 1342, an arm 1345, one end of the arm 1345 being pivotally supported between the support posts 1341, 1342 via a hinge 1343, the other end being connected by a stopper 1344, an attachment shaft 135 vertically provided at the center of the lower surface of the arm 1345, and a coil spring 136 as a spring member, the coil spring 136 being wound around the attachment shaft 135. In this case, the stopper 1344 is constituted by a locking portion s1, a locking hole s2, and a locking member s3, wherein the locking portion s1 is formed at the upper end portion of the stay 1342 on the other end side and extends upward, a horizontally elongated slit s0 is provided in a part of the locking portion s1, the locking hole s2 is formed on the other end side of the arm 1345 and is capable of inserting the locking portion s1 of the stay 1342 on the other end side, the locking member s3 is attached to the upper surface of the other end side of the arm 1345 so as to be rotatable in the horizontal direction and has a protrusion s31 capable of engaging with and disengaging from the slit s0 of the locking portion s1 of the stay 1342 on the other end side, the locking member s3 on the arm 1345 is inserted through the locking hole s2 of the arm 1345, and the locking member s3 on the arm 1345 is rotated so that the protrusion s31 engages with the slit 0 of the stay 1342 on the other end side to connect the arm 1345, in this state, the locking member s3 on the arm 1345 engaged with the slit s0 of the support 1342 on the other end side is rotated to disengage the protrusion s31 from the slit s0, whereby the support 1342 on the other end side can be unlocked from the arm 1345, and the arm 1345 can be pulled out and lifted up from the locking portion s1 of the support 1342 on the other end side. Each of the roller bearing mounting arms 137 is composed of a central plate P1 and four arms P2, wherein the four arms P2 extend horizontally in four directions at equal intervals from the outer periphery of the plate P1, the front end thereof is formed obliquely downward, the front end thereof has a free roller bearing mounting surface capable of mounting the free roller bearing 130 obliquely downward, the mounting shaft 135 of the mounting frame 134 (arm 1345) is inserted through and mounted to the center of the central plate P1, and the coil spring 136 is compressed between the central plate P1 and the arm 1345 and mounted so as to be capable of extending and contracting in the vertical direction. The free roller bearings 130 are mounted on the roller bearing mounting surfaces of the free roller bearing mounting arms 137 such that the rollers are oriented obliquely downward.

In this way, the support device 13 supports the top surface of the ball guide 12, that is, the outer surface on the top surface side of the upper case 122, at multiple points (four-point support) using the plurality of (four) free roller bearings 130, and supports the bottom surface of the ball guide 12, that is, the outer surface on the bottom surface side of the lower case 121, at multiple points (four-point support) using the plurality of (four) free roller bearings 130.

By doing so, in the above-mentioned cells, in the swing-free case C1 for conveying a tissue piece, the spherical guide 12 integrated with the container holder 11 is supported by the roller bearings 130 respectively above and below the support device 13, the container holder 11 is supported so as not to swing by the relative movement between the support device 13 and the container holder 11, which is achieved by the spherical surface of the guide 12 and the engagement guide of the roller bearings 130 respectively of the support device 13, with respect to the external force acting in the swing direction of the support device 13 and the container holder 11, and the container holder 11 is supported so as to be perpendicular to the acceleration (resultant acceleration) direction due to the inertial force, by the relative movement between the support device 13 and the container holder 11, which is achieved by the engagement guide of the roller bearings 130 respectively of the spherical surface of the guide 12 and the support device 13, with respect to the inertial force acting on the support device 13 and the container holder 11.

A case where the main case C1 is mounted on a vehicle such as a so-called minibus (japanese: ミニバン) and iPS cells are transported using the vehicle will be described with reference to fig. 2.

< installation of main housing in vehicle >

As shown in fig. 2(a), first, the main case C1 is mounted in the vehicle M. In this case, the support device 13 (installation base 132) of the main casing C1 is installed on the stage M1 fixed to the vehicle M so as to be installed in the vehicle. In this case, it is preferable that main case C1 be provided at the center in the vehicle width direction of stage M1.

< Stacking of iPS cells onto vehicle >

When the iPS cells are stacked on the main case C1, the stoppers 1344 (locking members s3) of the support device 13 are disengaged to lift the arms 1345 from the support posts 1342, and in this state, the container holder 11 is removed from the support device 13 together with the guides 12.

The iPS cells are usually stored in a container S such as a petri dish after predetermined gas management, and first, the container S is held in the container holder 11. At this time, the respective fastening pieces 127 of the guide 12 are loosened to remove the upper case 122 from the lower case 121, and then the respective nuts 117 of the container holder 11 are disengaged from the respective screws 116 to remove the pressing plate 113. Next, the container S containing the iPS cells is placed on the support plate 111 of the container holder 11, the pressing plate 113 is covered on the container S, and the container S is clamped between the support plate 111 and the pressing plate 113 by fastening the screw 116 and the nut 117. Next, the upper case 122 is joined to the lower case 121, and the two are fastened by the fasteners 127, thereby maintaining the inside of the guide 12 airtight. At this time, container holder 11 is disposed in lower case 121 of guide 12, shaft 118 projecting from the lower center of container holder 11 passes through shaft insertion portion 128 of lower case 121 to integrate container holder 11 with guide 12, and weight 119 is attached to shaft 118 projecting from the bottom surface of lower case 121, so weight 119 is positioned in the direction of gravity, container holder 11 is positioned horizontally in lower case 121, and container S in container holder 11 is held horizontally.

Next, the container holder 11 and the guide 12 integrated as described above are supported by the supporting device 13. At this time, first, the lower housing 121 of the guide 12 is placed on the respective free roller bearings 130 of the respective free roller bearing mounting portions 133 of the support device 13. Next, after the arm 1345 of the support device 13 is lowered and the roller bearings 130 of the roller bearing mounting arms 137 pivotally supported by the arm 1345 are brought into contact with the upper case 122 of the guide 12, the arm 1345 is pressed down against the biasing force of the coil spring 136, and the arm 1345 is connected and locked to the support column 1342 by the stopper 1344, so that the guide 12 of a spherical body is supported by eight-point support of the upper and lower roller bearings 130. Thereby, the weight 119 attached to the shaft 118 protruding from the lowest point of the guide member 12 is positioned in the gravity direction, the container holder 11 is horizontal in the guide member 12, and the container S in the container holder 11 is held horizontally.

< transportation of iPS cells by vehicle >

When the vehicle in which the iPS cells are mounted starts running and an inertial force acts on the main case C1, the container holder 11 and the guide 12 vibrate (tilt) in the direction of acceleration (resultant acceleration) generated by the inertial force on the support device 13 together with the weight 119, as shown in fig. 2 (b). In response to the inertial force, the container holder 11 is supported at right angles to the acceleration direction by the inertial force by the relative movement between the support device 13 and the container holder 11, which is achieved by the spherical surface of the guide 12 and the engagement and guidance of the support device 13 by the roller bearing 130, and the container S in the container holder 11 is supported at right angles to the acceleration direction by the inertial force together with the culture medium of iPS cells, so that the fluctuation of the culture medium of iPS cells can be eliminated or suppressed to a minimum. This state is maintained until the container holder 11 (weight 119) returns to the gravity direction.

When an external force in the swing direction is generated in the main case C1 due to lateral sway of the vehicle during traveling of the vehicle on which iPS cells are mounted, the container holder 11 is supported so as not to swing even if the support device 13 follows the vibration of the vehicle, due to the relative movement between the support device 13 and the container holder 11, which is achieved by the spherical surface of the guide 12 and the engagement guide of the support device 13 by the roller bearing 130, as shown in fig. 2 (a). Thus, the vessel S in the vessel holder 11 is maintained at a level together with the culture medium of iPS cells, and the fluctuation in the culture medium of iPS cells can be eliminated or suppressed to a minimum. When the vehicle travels a long curve at a high speed and a centrifugal force acts on the support device 13 and the container holder 11, the container holder 11 and the guide 12 vibrate (tilt) in the centrifugal force direction together with the counterweight 119 on the support device 13, as shown in fig. 2 (b). In response to the centrifugal force, the container holder 11 is supported at right angles to the acceleration direction by the centrifugal force by the relative movement between the support device 13 and the container holder 11, which is achieved by the spherical surface of the guide 12 and the engagement guide of the support device 13 by the roller bearing 130, and the container S in the container holder 11 is supported at right angles to the acceleration direction by the centrifugal force together with the culture medium of iPS cells, so that the fluctuation of the culture medium of iPS cells can be eliminated or the fluctuation of the culture medium of iPS cells can be suppressed to a minimum. This state is maintained until the container holder 11 (weight 119) returns to the gravity direction.

Then, even when the vehicle on which the iPS cells are mounted has completed traveling, even if an inertial force acts on the main case C1, the container holder 11 can be supported at right angles to the acceleration direction by the inertial force by the relative movement between the support device 13 and the container holder 11, which is achieved by the spherical surface of the guide 12 and the engagement guide of the support device 13 by the roller bearing 130, and the container S in the container holder 11 can be supported at right angles to the acceleration direction by the inertial force together with the culture medium of the iPS cells, so that the fluctuation of the culture medium of the iPS cells can be eliminated or the fluctuation of the culture medium of the iPS cells can be suppressed to a minimum. This state is maintained until the container holder 11 (weight 119) returns to the gravity direction.

As described above, according to the main casing C1, the main casing C1 includes: a guide 12 attached to the container holder 11 for holding the container S for storing the cells and the tissue pieces horizontally, the guide 12 supporting the container holder 11; and a support device 13, the support device 13 supporting the container holder 11 via a guide 12, the guide 12 having a spherical surface extending at least from a lower side of the container holder 11 toward a side of the container holder 11 over a full circumference, the support device 13 being constituted by a plurality of free roller bearings 130 that are in contact with the spherical surface of the guide 12 and are rotatable in all directions, the container holder 11 being supported so as not to swing by a relative movement between the support device 13 and the container holder 11 that is realized by the spherical surface of the guide 12 and engagement guidance of the roller bearings 130 by the spherical surface of the support device 13, respectively, with respect to an external force acting in a swinging direction of the support device 13 and the container holder 11, and the container holder 11 being supported so as not to swing by an inertial force acting on the main casing C1 (the support device 13 and the container holder 11), by the support device 13 and the container holder 13 that are realized by engagement guidance of the roller bearings 130 by the spherical surface of the guide 12 and the support device 13, respectively, with respect to the inertial force acting on the main Since the relative movement between the container holders 11 supports the container holders 11 at right angles to the direction of acceleration due to the inertial force, when cells such as iPS cells are transported using a vehicle or other various transport means, the fluctuation of the culture medium of the cells in the container S due to shaking or tilting during transportation can be reduced, and cell destruction can be prevented.

In the main casing C1, the cell holder 11 is composed of a support plate 111 for supporting the cell S, a pressing plate 113 for pressing the cell S from above, and a screw device 115 screwed between the support plate 111 and the pressing plate 113, and holds the cell S from above and below, so that the sealed state of the cell S can be reliably maintained.

Further, in the main casing C1, the spherical guide 12 integrated with the container holder 11 is supported at eight points by the roller bearings 130 at the upper and lower sides of the support device 13, and therefore, the container holder 11 can be stably supported by the support device 13.

Fig. 3 shows a second embodiment.

As shown in fig. 2, the swing-free case C2 for transporting a cell or tissue piece (which may be referred to as a main case C2 in the following description of the second embodiment) includes: a container holder 21 for holding a container for storing cells and tissue pieces horizontally; a guide 22 attached to the container holder 21, the guide 22 supporting the container holder 21; and a support device 23, the support device 23 supporting the container holder 21 via the guide 22.

The vessel holder 21 includes a support plate 211 for supporting the vessel, a pressing plate 213 for pressing the vessel S from above, and a screw device 215 screwed between the support plate 211 and the pressing plate 213.

In this case, the support plate 211 is a circular plate having a predetermined outer diameter, and four screw insertion holes 212 are formed at 90-degree intervals in the outer peripheral edge portion of the support plate 211. The pressing plate 213 is a circular plate having a predetermined outer diameter slightly larger than the support plate 211, and four screw insertion holes 214 are formed at 90-degree intervals on the outer peripheral side of the pressing plate 213 corresponding to the respective screw insertion holes 212 of the support plate 211. The screw means 215 is constituted by four sets of screws 216 and nuts 217. In this way, the vessel such as a petri dish in which cells and tissue pieces are accommodated is supported by the support plate 211, the vessel is pressed from above the vessel by the pressing plate 213, and the screws 216 are inserted through the screw insertion holes 212 of the support plate 211 and the screw insertion holes 214 of the pressing plate 213, so that the screws 216 and the nuts 217 are fastened to the pressing plate 213, whereby the vessel can be clamped by the support plate 211 and the pressing plate 213.

The guide 22 is constituted by a plurality of free roller bearings 220 that are in contact with a spherical surface of a support device 23 described later and are rotatable in all directions.

The guide 23 is composed of a plurality of, in this case, four free roller bearings 220, and the balls are attached to the bottom surface of the container holder 21, that is, the bottom surface of the support plate 211, by the roller bearings 220 at equal intervals from each other in a downward direction so as to be equidistant from the center of the bottom surface.

As described above, the free roller bearing 220 includes the housing f having the hemispherical concave surface, the balls g rotatably disposed on the hemispherical concave surface of the housing f, the cap h covering the hemispherical concave surface of the housing f and holding the balls g, and the like, and the balls g are rotatable in all directions in the housing f.

The support device 23 has a spherical surface extending from at least the lower side of the container holder 21 to the entire lateral periphery of the container holder 21.

The support device 23 includes: a closed shell member 23A having at least a spherical bottom surface and capable of housing the container holder 21; and a mounting base 23B for disposing the housing member 23A on the bottom surface side of the container holder 21 so as to be in contact with the roller bearings 220, respectively, in the mounting base 23B.

At this time, the housing member 23A is formed of a hemisphere and a cylinder which can be divided into two parts along the upper and lower sides, and includes a hemispherical lower housing 231 having an opening on the upper surface and a hemispherical upper housing 232 having a closed upper surface and an opening on the lower surface. The lower casing 231 and the upper casing 232 are provided with

rings

233 and 234 over the entire periphery of their respective openings so as to be in contact with each other, or over one of the rings, and in this case, a groove 235 is formed over the entire periphery of the upper surface of the ring 233 on the lower casing 231 side, and an O-ring 236 is fitted into the groove 235, whereby the lower casing 231 and the upper casing 232 are coupled to each other in an airtight manner. A plurality of (in this case, four) fastening pieces 237 are attached at predetermined intervals (in this case, 90-degree intervals) in the circumferential direction between the connection portions of the lower case 231 and the upper case 232, and these fastening pieces 237 are used to fasten and connect the lower case 231 and the upper case 232. The fastener 237 is generally known as a general-purpose article, and includes a fixed base plate a, a movable body c pivotally supported on the fixed base plate a and having an operation lever b at a distal end thereof, a hook frame d pivotally supported on the movable body c at a position closer to the operation lever b than a pivotal support point of the movable body c, a fixed base plate a attached to an outer surface of the movable body c closer to an outer peripheral edge of an opening by a fastener such as a screw, a receiver e attached to an outer surface of the lower housing 231 closer to the outer peripheral edge of the opening by a fastener such as a screw, and a movable body c pivotally attached between coupling portions of the upper housing 232 and the lower housing 231 by the fixed base plate a. In this way, the upper and

lower cases

231 and 232 are coupled with the

respective rings

233 and 234 aligned with each other, and in the above state, the operating lever b is lifted up to rotate the movable body c in a direction of being pulled away from the fixed board a, and the hook frame d is rotated toward the receiver e to hook the hook frame d to the receiver e, and in this state, the operating lever b is pressed down to rotate the movable body c toward the fixed board a, and the hook frame d hooked to the receiver e is pulled (toward the upper case 232 side) by the movable body c, so that the upper and

lower cases

231 and 232 are fastened and held in a sealed state by the pulling force of the hook frame d.

An engaging portion 238 for attaching a spring is formed in a convex shape at the center of the bottom surface of the lower case 231, that is, at the lowest point of the bottom surface of the lower case 231, and attachment portions 239 for attaching a cushion are provided at 90-degree intervals at the upper portion of the bottom surface.

The mounting base 23B includes: a base 241 is provided; a coil spring 242 interposed between the center of the installation base 241 and the center of the bottom surface of the housing member 23A; and a plurality of cushion members 243, the cushion members 243 being interposed between the installation base 241 and the housing member 23A around the coil spring 242. In this case, the frame having the L-shaped cross section of the installation base 241 is assembled into a substantially rectangular shape, and the entire size is substantially the same as the outer circumference of the guide 22. An engaging portion 241a for attaching a spring is provided in a convex shape at the center of the installation base 241, and an installation portion 241b for attaching a cushion is provided at each of four corners. The coil spring 242 is interposed between the engaging portion 238 on the bottom surface of the case member 23A and an engaging portion 241a provided on the installation base 241 of the mounting base 23B. The buffer member 243 is a commonly known general-purpose member, and includes a cylinder and a rod inserted into the cylinder in an extensible and contractible manner. At this time, the four cushion members 243 are interposed between the respective mounting portions 239 at the upper portion of the bottom surface of the case member 23A and the respective mounting portions 241B of the mounting base 23B (the four corners of the mounting base 241).

In this way, the supporting device 23 is configured to elastically support (the coil spring 242 and the four cushion members 243 of) the case member 23A via the mounting base 23B, and the container holder 21 is supported in the case member 23A via the plurality of (four) free roller bearings 220 that constitute the guide 22.

By doing so, in the above-mentioned cells, in the swing-free case C2 for transporting a tissue piece, the container holder 21 is supported by the case 23A of the support device 23 via the guide 22 formed of the plurality of free roller bearings 220 integrated with the container holder 21, the container holder 21 is supported so as not to swing by the relative movement between the support device 23 and the container holder 21, which is realized by the engagement and guidance of the roller bearings 220 and the spherical surfaces of the support device 23, respectively, of the guide 22 with respect to the external force acting in the swing direction of the support device 23 and the container holder 21, and the container holder 21 is supported so as not to swing by the relative movement between the support device 23 and the container holder 21, which is realized by the engagement and guidance of the roller bearings 220 and the spherical surfaces of the support device 23, respectively, of the guide 22 with respect to the inertial force acting on the support device 23 and the container holder 21.

A case will be described in which the main casing C2 is mounted on a vehicle such as a so-called minibus and iPS cells are transported using the vehicle.

< installation of main housing in vehicle >

As shown in fig. 4(a), first, the main case C2 is mounted in the vehicle M. In this case, support device 23 (installation base 241) of main casing C2 is installed on stage M1 fixed to vehicle M so as to be installed in vehicle M. In this case, it is preferable that main case C2 be provided at the center in the vehicle width direction of stage M1.

< Stacking of iPS cells onto vehicle >

When the iPS cells are stacked on the main case C2, first, the respective fastening pieces 237 of the case pieces 23A of the support device 23 are loosened to detach the upper case 232 from the lower case 231, and then the respective nuts 217 of the container holder 21 are loosened from the respective screws 216 to detach the pressing plate 213.

As described above, iPS cells are stored in a container S such as a petri dish after being subjected to predetermined gas management, and the container S is first held in the container holder 21. At this time, the vessel S is placed on the support plate 211 of the vessel holder 21, the pressing plate 213 is covered from above the vessel S, and the vessel S is clamped between the support plate 211 and the pressing plate 213 by fastening the screw 216 and the nut 217. Next, the upper case 231 is joined to the lower case 232, and the two are fastened by the fasteners 237, thereby maintaining the inside of the guide 22 airtight. At this time, the housing member 23A is elastically supported by the coil spring 242 provided immediately below and the four dampers 243 around the coil spring 242 to suppress the wobbling, and the container holder 21 is held horizontally with its bottom surface facing the gravity direction in the housing member 23A.

< transportation of iPS cells by vehicle >

When the vehicle equipped with iPS cells starts running and an inertial force acts on the main case C2, the case member 23A of the support device 23 vibrates (tilts) in the direction of acceleration (resultant acceleration) generated by the inertial force, as shown in fig. 4 (b). In response to the inertial force, even if the housing 23A of the support device 23 vibrates in the direction of acceleration (combined acceleration) caused by the inertial force due to the relative movement between the support device 23 and the container holder 21 of the guide 22, which is guided by the engagement of the roller bearing 220 and the spherical surface of the housing 23A of the support device 23, the container holder 21 is supported so as not to swing in the housing 23A, and the container S in the container holder 21 is held substantially horizontally together with the culture medium of iPS cells, so that the movement of generating undulation in the culture medium of iPS cells can be eliminated or the movement of generating undulation in the culture medium of iPS cells can be suppressed to a minimum.

When an external force in the swing direction is generated in the main case C2 due to lateral sway of the vehicle or the like during traveling of the vehicle on which iPS cells are mounted, the container holder 21 is supported so as not to swing within the case 23A of the support device 23 even if the support device 23 follows the vibration of the vehicle, by the relative movement between the support device 23 and the container holder 21, which is achieved by the engagement and guidance of the roller bearings 220 and the spherical surfaces of the case 23A of the support device 23 by the guides 22, as shown in fig. 4 (a). Thus, the vessel S in the vessel holder 21 is maintained at a level together with the culture medium of iPS cells, and the fluctuation in the culture medium of iPS cells can be eliminated or suppressed to a minimum. Further, when the vehicle travels on a long curve at high speed and centrifugal force acts on the main case C2, the case member 23A of the support device 23 vibrates (topples over) in the direction of the centrifugal force. As shown in fig. 4(b), by the relative movement between the support device 23 and the container holder 21, which is achieved by the engagement and guidance of the roller bearings 220 and the spherical surfaces of the housing pieces 23A of the support device 23 by the guides 22, even if the housing pieces 23A of the support device 23 vibrate in the centrifugal force direction, the container holder 21 is supported so as not to swing in the housing pieces 23A, and the container S in the container holder 21 is horizontally held together with the culture medium of iPS cells, whereby the action of generating the undulation in the culture medium of iPS cells can be eliminated or the action of generating the undulation in the culture medium of iPS cells can be suppressed to a minimum.

Then, even when the vehicle on which the iPS cells are mounted finishes traveling, even if an inertial force acts on the main casing C2, in the same manner as the inertial force, the container holder 21 is supported so as not to swing in the case 23A even when the case 23A of the support device 23 vibrates due to the relative movement between the support device 23 and the container holder 21 that is achieved by the engagement and guidance of the roller bearing 220 and the spherical surface of the case 23A of the support device 23 by the guide 22, and the container S in the container holder 21 is held substantially horizontally together with the culture medium of the iPS cells, so that the action of generating undulation in the culture medium of the iPS cells can be eliminated or the action of generating undulation in the culture medium of the iPS cells can be suppressed to a minimum.

As described above, according to the main casing C2, the main casing C2 includes: a guide 22 attached to the container holder 21 for holding the container S for storing the cells and the tissue pieces horizontally, the guide 22 supporting the container holder 21; and a support device 23 for supporting the container holder 21 via a guide 22, the guide 22 being constituted by a plurality of free roller bearings 220 that are in contact with the spherical surface of the support device 23 and are rotatable in all directions, the support device 23 having a spherical surface that extends at least from below the container holder 21 toward the entire lateral periphery of the container holder 21, the container holder 21 being supported so as not to swing by a relative movement between the support device 23 and the container holder 21 that is realized by engagement guidance of the spherical surfaces of the roller bearings 220 and the support device 23, respectively, of the guide 22 with respect to an external force acting in a swinging direction of the support device 23 and the container holder 21, and the support device 23 and the container holder 21 being realized by engagement guidance of the spherical surfaces of the roller bearings 220 and the support device 23, respectively, of the guide 22 with respect to an inertial force acting on the support device 23 and the container holder 21, by the engagement guidance of the spherical surfaces of the roller bearings 220 and the support device 23, respectively, of the guide 22 Since the vessel holder 21 can be supported without swinging during the movement, when cells such as iPS cells are transported by using a vehicle or other various transport means, the fluctuation of the culture medium of the cells in the vessel S due to shaking or tilting during the transportation can be reduced, and the destruction of the cells can be prevented.

In the main casing C2, the vessel holder 21 is composed of a support plate 211 for supporting the vessel S, a pressing plate 213 for pressing the vessel S from above, and a screw device 215 screwed between the support plate 211 and the pressing plate 213, and holds the vessel S such as a culture dish containing cells from above and below, so that the sealed state of the vessel S can be reliably maintained.

In the main casing C2, the container holder 21 is supported by the support device 23 via the plurality of free roller bearings 220 of the guide 22 in the substantially hemispherical closed casing 23A of the support device 23, and therefore the container holder 21 can be stably supported by the support device 23.

In the case of main case C2, since housing member 23A of support device 23 is formed in a substantially hemispherical shape and housing member 23A is supported by coil spring 242 and buffer 243, the entire device can be made compact and mounted on a vehicle or the like in a space-saving manner as compared with the first embodiment.

Further, although the guide 11 is formed as a spherical body in the first embodiment, it may be formed into a substantially hemispherical shape similarly to the case member 23A of the second embodiment, and even in this case, the same operational effects as those of the first embodiment can be obtained, and in this case, there is also an advantage that the entire device can be downsized.

In the second embodiment, the housing 23A of the support device 23 is formed in a substantially hemispherical shape, but may be formed in a spherical shape similarly to the guide 12 (housing) of the first embodiment, and even in this case, the same operational effects as those of the second embodiment can be obtained.

Claims

1. A swing-free case for transporting a cell or tissue piece, comprising:

a container holder for holding a container for storing cells and tissue pieces horizontally;

a guide member attached to the container holder and supporting the container holder; and

a supporting device that supports the container holder by the guide,

the guide is a closed shell member having at least a spherical bottom surface, in which the container holder is disposed, and has a shaft insertion portion at the lowest point of the bottom surface, the container holder is disposed in the guide, a shaft protruding from the center of the lower portion of the container holder passes through the shaft insertion portion to integrate the container holder and the guide, and a weight is attached to the lower end of the shaft,

the supporting device includes: a plurality of free roller bearings supporting the bottom surface of the housing member at multiple points; and a mounting base for disposing each of the free roller bearings in contact with a bottom surface of the guide,

the container holder is supported so as not to swing by a relative movement between the supporting device and the container holder against an external force acting in a swinging direction of the supporting device and the container holder.

2. The swing-free case for transporting a cell or tissue piece according to claim 1,

the vessel holder is composed of a support plate for supporting the vessel, a pressing plate for pressing the vessel from above, and a screw device screwed between the support plate and the pressing plate.

3. The swing-free case for transporting a cell or tissue piece according to claim 1,

the mounting base includes a setting base and a plurality of free roller bearing mounting portions vertically provided in the setting base.