JP2000302184A - Small animal storage box - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a small animal storage box wherein when a small animal is received inside, an ammonia odor can be prevented from remaining, a container body and a lid can be kept with predetermined strength, and the box can be easily recycled. SOLUTION: The small animal storage box includes a bottomed-box-formed container body 12 and a lid 13 for closing an upper face opening of the container body 12 so that it can be opened/closed. Vent holes 24, 25 in a form of numerous small pores are formed on a side wall 12a of the container body 12 and the lid 13. The maximum opening width of each vent hole 24, 25 is specified to be 1 to 3 mm. A total opening area of the vent hole 25 on the lid 13 is specified to be 7 to 16% of a surface area of the lid 13. A total opening area of the vent hole 24 on the side wall 12a is specified to be 50 to 100% of the total opening area of the vent hole 25 on the lid 13. Filters 26, 27 made of a polypropylene non-woven fabric as same as that of the container body 12 and the lid 13 are placed on the vent holes 24, 25 of the side wall 12a and the lid 13.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is designed so that small animals such as mice and guinea pigs for conducting animal experiments can be accommodated at the time of transportation and the like, and can be easily recycled after use. It relates to a small animal storage box.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional small animal storage box of this type includes a bottomed box-shaped container main body and a lid for opening and closing a top opening of the container main body, and accommodates a small animal therein. Had become. And in the state of accommodation of small animals,
Along the joint between the opening edge of the container body and the outer peripheral edge of the lid, a vinyl tape or the like is stuck to seal the joint to prevent invasion of various bacteria.

[0003]

However, in the case where the inside of the storage box is sealed as described above, the air permeability deteriorates, and the small animals inside the storage box sweat and lose weight due to the rise in temperature. There was a problem that it could not be used immediately as an animal. Also, if the inside of the storage box is sealed, the smell of ammonia due to the excrement of the small animal will collect and adversely affect the maintenance of physical condition of the small animal, and at the time of opening the storage box, the ammonia odor will be released, and it will cause discomfort. There were also problems.

[0004] To cope with such a problem, it is conceivable to form a large number of small holes in the side wall and lid of the container body so as to improve the air permeability inside the small animal in a housed state. Can be

However, when a large number of ventilation holes are formed as described above, if the opening width of each ventilation hole is large, the small animal may bite, and the reinforcing effect of the storage box is reduced.
A problem arises in that the physical condition of the small animal is abnormal. In addition, when the total opening area of the ventilation holes is small, there is a problem that the air permeability is poor and it is not possible to reliably prevent the above-mentioned perspiration of small animals and the generation of ammonia odor.

The present invention has been made by paying attention to such problems existing in the prior art. The purpose of this is to maintain a moderate level of ventilation when small animals are housed inside, and to prevent abnormalities in the physical condition of small animals and prevent the smell of ammonia from accumulating. Another object of the present invention is to provide a small animal storage box that can maintain a container main body and a lid at a predetermined strength and can be easily recycled.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a container body having a bottomed box shape and a lid for closing an upper opening of the container body so as to be openable and closable. In a small animal storage box that accommodates small animals therein, a large number of small holes are formed in the side wall and lid of the container body, and the maximum opening width of each hole is 1 to 1.
3 mm, the total opening area of the ventilation holes on the lid is 7 to 16% of the surface area of the lid, and the total opening area of the ventilation holes on the side wall is 50% of the total opening area of the ventilation holes on the lid. ~ 100
%, And a filter is provided on the side wall and the ventilation hole of the lid, and the filter is formed of a nonwoven fabric made of the same synthetic resin as the container body and the lid.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a small-animal housing which includes a bottomed box-shaped container main body, and a lid for opening and closing the upper opening of the container main body, and accommodates small animals therein. In the box, the side wall and the lid of the container body are formed with a number of small holes, and the maximum opening width of each of the holes is set to 1 to 3 mm. The area is 7 to 16% of the surface area of the lid, and the total opening area of the ventilation holes on the side wall is 50 to 50% of the total opening area of the ventilation holes on the lid.
It is set to 100%, and the container body and the lid are formed of polypropylene.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the small animal storage box 11 has a bottomed box-shaped container body 1.
2 and a lid 13 that is openably and closably mounted on the upper surface opening of the container body 12. The small animal storage box 11 contains small animals 1 such as mice and guinea pigs.
4 is accommodated at the time of transportation or the like.

The container body 12 is formed of polypropylene, and has a stepped support flange 15 protruding from the outer peripheral edge of the upper surface opening thereof, and a plurality of support legs 16 protruding from the lower surface thereof. The lid 13 is formed of the same polypropylene as the container body 12, and has a fitting flange 17 formed at the lower portion of the outer peripheral edge of the lid 13 and a plurality of engagement recesses 18 formed at the upper surface.

Then, as shown in FIG.
Of the fitting flange 17 of the container body 12
The lid 13 is attached to the opening on the upper surface of the container body 12. When a plurality of small animal storage boxes 11 are stacked with the lid 13 attached, the lid 1
The supporting leg 16 of the other container body 12 is engaged with the engaging concave portion 18 on the upper part 3 so that the small animal storage boxes 11 are positioned in a stacked state.

A bottom mat 19 made of cardboard or the like is laid in the container body 12 prior to housing the small animal 14, and a plurality of water bottles 20 made of the same polypropylene as the container body 12 and the lid 13 are engaged. Is stopped.
In addition, a partition frame 21 is attached inside the container body 12,
The partition frame 21 allows the small animal 14
Are divided into a plurality of accommodation rooms for accommodating the. The partition frame 21 is configured by assembling a plurality of first partition plates 22 and one second partition plate 23 made of the same polypropylene as the container main body 12 and the lid 13, and locked on the inner surface of the side wall of the container main body 12. Is held.

As shown in FIG. 1 to FIG.
A large number of small air holes 24, 25 are arranged at a predetermined pitch in both side walls 12a and the lid 13 on the long side of the two. Filters 26 and 27 are welded to the outer surfaces of both side walls 12a of the container body 12 and the upper surface of the lid 13 so as to cover these ventilation holes 24 and 25.
Reference numeral 27 is a nonwoven fabric made of the same polypropylene as the container body 12.

The maximum opening width, that is, the diameter of each of the circular small holes 24, 25 is set in the range of 1 to 3 mm, preferably in the range of 1.5 to 2.5 mm. The total opening area of the ventilation holes 25 on the lid 13 is
Within the range of 7 to 16% of the surface area of
% Is set within the range. Further, the total opening area of the ventilation holes 24 on the side wall 12a is in the range of 50 to 100% of the total opening area of the ventilation holes 25 on the lid 13, preferably 60.
It is set within the range of ８０80%.

The formation of the ventilation holes 24 and 25 allows ventilation in the small animal housing box 11 and the provision of the filters 26 and 27 allows the ventilation holes 24 and 25 to be provided.
Intrusion of dust, germs and the like from the inside into the inside is prevented.

By the way, a small animal storage box 11 was prototyped,
560 mm long x 400 mm wide with a surface area of 224,00
6,300 small circular holes 25 having a diameter of 2.5 mm are formed in the lid 13 of 0 mm 2, and the total opening area of the ventilation holes 25 on the lid 13 is set to about 14% of the surface area of the lid 13. %. On both side walls 12a of the container body 12, 4,400 circular small hole-shaped vent holes 24 having a diameter of 2.5 mm are formed. Was set to 70% of the total opening area of the ventilation holes 25.
The prototype of the small animal container 11 was subjected to a penetration test such as a breathability test and a sterilization test. Good results were obtained.

When the diameters of the vents 24 and 25 are smaller than 1 mm, the vents 24 and 25 cannot be bitten by small animals such as mice and guinea pigs.
The air permeability is reduced. When the diameter of the vents 24 and 25 is larger than 3 mm, the air permeability of the container body 12 is good, but the vents 24 and 25 are bitten by small animals such as mice and guinea pigs. for that reason,
The bite invades the body of the small animal and causes a change in the physical condition of the small animal.

Next, the operation of the small animal container configured as described above will be described. When the small animal storage box 11 is used for transporting the small animals 14, etc., the bottom mat 19 is laid in the container body 12, and the water bottle 20 is locked and held. Furthermore, the partition frame 21 is assembled in the container main body 12, and a plurality of storage chambers are formed therein. In this state, the small animals 14 are individually housed in each accommodation room of the container body 12 one by one. Then, the lid 13 is attached to the upper opening of the container body 12, and the support flange 15 of the container body 12 is
A vinyl tape or the like is adhered along the outer peripheral joint portion between the container body 12 and the fitting flange 17 of the lid 13 so that the container body 12 and the lid 13
And seal.

In this state, when the small animal storage box 11 is transported, appropriate ventilation is achieved by the ventilation holes 24 and 25 on the side walls 12a of the container body 12 and the lid 13, so that the small animal 14 is heated due to a rise in temperature. It does not cause any abnormal condition due to sweating or smell of ammonia inside. Further, since the ventilation holes 24 and 25 are covered with the filters 26 and 27, there is no possibility that dust, germs and the like enter the inside from the ventilation holes 24 and 25. Therefore, the small animal 14 can be transported while maintaining good physical condition.

After the small animal 14 is taken out of the small animal storage box 11, in order to prevent contamination by germs and the like,
The small animal storage box 11 is recycled without repeated use. In this case, the container body 12, the lid 13, the water bottle 20 and the partition frame 21 are formed of polypropylene, and the filters 26 and 27 are also formed of polypropylene. Therefore, if only the bottom mat 19 contaminated with the excrement of the small animal 14 is discarded, the other members can be recycled at the same time without being separated.

The container body 12, the lid 13, the water bottle 2
If the 0 and the partition frame 21 are formed of pure polypropylene not mixed with a pigment or the like, versatile regenerated pellets that can be diverted to other products can be obtained during this recycling process.

The effects that can be expected from the above embodiment will be described below. The small animal storage box of this embodiment includes a container body 12 having a box shape with a bottom and a lid 13 that closes the upper opening of the container body 12 so that it can be opened and closed. A large number of small holes 24 and 25 are formed in the side wall 12 a and the lid 13 of the container body 12. Each ventilation hole 24, 25
Has a maximum opening width in the range of 1 to 3 mm, preferably 1.
It is set in the range of 5 to 2.5 mm, most preferably 2.5 mm. The total opening area of the ventilation holes 25 on the lid 13 is within the range of 7 to 16% of the surface area of the lid 13, preferably within the range of 10 to 15%, and most preferably 14%.
Is set to Further, the ventilation holes 24 on the side wall 12a
Is set in the range of 50 to 100%, preferably in the range of 60 to 80%, and most preferably 70% of the total opening area of the ventilation holes 25 on the lid 13.

For this reason, even when the small animal 14 is accommodated therein and the lid 13 is attached to the upper opening of the container body 12 and sealed, the air permeability of the inside is appropriately controlled through the ventilation holes 24 and 25. Can be kept. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the small animal 14 from sweating due to the rise in temperature, causing abnormal changes in physical condition, and preventing the inside of the small animal 14 from smelling ammonia odor. In addition, since the maximum opening width of each of the ventilation holes 24 and 25 is appropriately set, the small animals 14 use the ventilation holes 24 and 25.
There is no risk of galling, and the container body 12 and the lid 13 can be maintained at a predetermined strength.

In the small animal storage box of this embodiment, filters 26 and 27 are provided on the side walls 12 a and the ventilation holes 24 and 25 of the lid 13, respectively. For this reason, it is possible to prevent dust and various germs from entering the inside through the ventilation holes 24 and 25, and to maintain the physical condition of the small animal 14.

In the small animal container of this embodiment, the filters 26 and 27 are formed of the same nonwoven fabric of polypropylene as the container body 12 and the lid 13. Therefore, when the small animal storage box 11 is recycled after use, the filters 26 and 27 do not need to be peeled off from the container body 12 and the lid 13, and can be processed as they are. Therefore, the small animal storage box 11 can be easily recycled.

This embodiment can be embodied with the following modifications. -Each of the small air holes 24, 25 is defined as a square, a hexagon,
To be formed in a polygonal shape such as an octagon.

When the ventilation holes 24 and 25 are formed in a polygonal shape, the distance between the diagonal lines is set so as to be a predetermined maximum opening width. The filters 26 and 27 are adhered to the outer surface of the side wall 12a of the container body 12 and the upper surface of the lid 13 with the same adhesive as the raw material of the filters 26 and 27.

Further, technical ideas other than the claims grasped by the above embodiment will be described below together with their effects. (1) The maximum opening width of each of the ventilation holes is 1.5 to 2.5 m
m, the total opening area of the ventilation holes on the lid is 10 to 15% of the surface area of the lid, and the total opening area of the ventilation holes on the side wall is 60% of the total opening area of the ventilation holes on the lid. The small animal storage box according to claim 1 or 2, which is set to ~ 80%.
When configured in this manner, when a small animal is accommodated therein, it is possible to maintain appropriate air permeability, and to prevent the abnormal condition of the small animal from occurring or to prevent the smell of ammonia from being trapped more effectively. The container body and the lid can be maintained at a predetermined strength, and can be easily recycled.

(2) The maximum opening width of each of the ventilation holes is 2.
5 mm, the total opening area of the ventilation holes on the lid is 14% of the surface area of the lid, and the total opening area of the ventilation holes on the side wall is 70% of the total opening area of the ventilation holes on the lid. The small animal storage box according to (1), which is set. In the case of such a configuration, when a small animal is accommodated in the inside, it is possible to maintain a suitable air permeability, and it is possible to more effectively prevent the physical condition of the small animal from being changed or the ammonia smell from being trapped. The container body and the lid can be maintained at a predetermined strength, and can be easily recycled.

(3) A water bottle and a partition frame formed of polypropylene.
The small animal container according to any one of (1) and (2). With such a configuration, the container body, the lid, the water bottle, and the partition frame can be simultaneously recycled without being separated.

(4) The small animal container as described in (3) above, wherein the container body, the lid, the water bottle, and the partition frame are formed of polypropylene containing no pigment. With this configuration, it is possible to obtain versatile regenerated pellets that can be diverted to other products during the recycling process.

[0032]

Since the present invention is configured as described above, it has the following effects. According to the first and second aspects of the present invention, when a small animal is accommodated in the inside, appropriate air permeability can be maintained, and the physical condition of the small animal is changed or the smell of ammonia is accumulated. Can be prevented, the container body and the lid can be maintained at a predetermined strength, and can be easily recycled.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view showing an embodiment of a small animal storage box according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the small animal storage box.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary front view showing a main part of the container.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a lid.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 ... small animal accommodation box, 12 ... container body, 12a ... side wall,
13 ... lid, 14 ... small animal, 24, 25 ... vent, 2
6, 27 ... Filter.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A small animal storage box including a bottomed box-shaped container main body and a lid for opening and closing an upper surface opening of the container main body, wherein a small animal is stored therein. A large number of small holes are formed in the side wall and the lid, and the maximum opening width of each vent is set to 1 to 3 mm, and the total opening area of the ventilation holes on the lid is determined by the surface area of the lid. 7-16%, the total opening area of the vent on the side wall is set to 50-100% of the total opening area of the vent on the lid, and a filter is provided on the vent on the side wall and the lid. A small animal storage box in which the filter is formed of a nonwoven fabric made of the same synthetic resin as the container body and the lid. 2. A small animal storage box including a bottomed box-shaped container main body and a lid for opening and closing the upper surface opening of the container main body, wherein a small animal is stored therein. A large number of small holes are formed in the side wall and the lid, and the maximum opening width of each vent is set to 1 to 3 mm, and the total opening area of the ventilation holes on the lid is determined by the surface area of the lid. A small animal storage box in which the total opening area of the ventilation holes on the side wall is set to 50% to 100% of the total opening area of the ventilation holes on the lid, and the container body and the lid are formed of polypropylene.