JP2002199815A - Apparatus for inoculating liquid spawn - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an apparatus for inoculating a liquid spawn capable of minimizing the invasion of various germs, simply carrying out sterilizing, and maintenance, and conducting stable spawn filling while raising the efficiency and keeping the feed rate of the spawn to a cultivation container nearly constant. SOLUTION: This apparatus for inoculating the liquid spawn is characterized by installing a spawn storing container 14 storing the liquid spawn B, a spawn feeding pipe 15 for feeding the liquid spawn B, a liquid spawn pressurizing means 16 for pressurizing the liquid spawn B and delivering the liquid spawn B in the interior of the spawn storing container 14 or in the course of a transporting passage of the spawn feeding pipe 15, liquid spawn jetting mechanisms 13 for jetting the liquid spawn B on a culture medium C of a cultivation container 8 and inoculating the liquid spawn B into the culture medium C and each jetting opening and closing valve 18 installed in the liquid spawn jetting mechanisms 13 and capable of carrying out feed and cutoff of the liquid spawn B in the apparatus for inoculating the liquid spawn B into a culture medium C in the cultivation container 8.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an inoculum inoculation apparatus for inoculating a culture medium filled in a mushroom cultivation container with a mushroom inoculum.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a method for artificially cultivating mushrooms using a culture medium containing a sawdust or rice bran as a main component and a nutrient source, a culture medium is filled in a cultivation container, sterilized, and the filled cultivation is performed. After inoculating seeds of mushrooms such as enoki mushroom and maitake in a container, cover the mouth of the cultivation container with a lid, close the container, and cultivate the bacteria under predetermined temperature and humidity conditions for industrial cultivation. There is a way to do that.

[0003] In this case, when inoculating the inoculum, in order to increase the work efficiency of the inoculation operation, the inoculation can be performed while placing each container on the transport conveyor without removing the cultivation container one by one from the container. Inoculation device
For example, JP-A-63-258519 and JP-A-63-258519
-258520.

In this inoculation apparatus, generally, the inoculum itself is propagated in a inoculum bottle in a culture medium in which nutrients are blended with sawdust or rice bran as a main component. Place the seed bottle in the inverted state and mount it on the body frame side.In this state, rotate the seed bottle and insert it into the seed bottle while rotating the scraping shaft provided with a scraping blade from the mouth of this seed bottle. Then, the seeds are scraped out by a scraping blade while rotating the scraping shaft and gradually ascending, and the seeded seeds are filled in a cultivation container via a hopper or the like.

[0005]

In the above-mentioned prior art, the filling amount of the inoculum generally sets the rotation time of the scraping shaft according to the kind of the mushroom to be cultivated. In some cases, the amount of seeds scraped out may differ due to the difference between the outside diameter of the mouth and the outside diameter of the trunk, or the seeds themselves in the seed bottle are solid, so when the seeds are scraped out The size of the inoculated fungus (sawdust) may vary,
The filling amount of the inoculum may vary, and in particular, when the inoculum amount of the inoculum is less than a predetermined amount, it is expected that the mycelium of the inoculum is difficult to propagate in the cultivation container, and it takes a long time to culture.

In order to avoid this, there has been proposed an inoculum inoculating apparatus in which liquid inoculum is used instead of solid inoculum. For example, in the liquid inoculum inoculation machine disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 12-175559, liquid inoculum contained in the inoculum container is supplied to the cultivation container by a nozzle. Since the inoculum is supplied by setting a timer in order to inoculate a certain amount of liquid inoculum in the container, there is an advantage that the amount of inoculation of the inoculum can be kept almost constant without variation.

However, in this liquid inoculum inoculating machine, an air supply device is operated in response to the opening and closing operation of a pressure valve provided inside the nozzle for spraying the liquid inoculum onto the culture medium through the nozzle. The air is introduced into the nozzle from the nozzle, and the pressurized air is mixed with the pressurized air and the liquid inoculum to form the inoculum into a mist and spray it from the injection port of the nozzle.

[0008] For this reason, when inoculating the liquid seed with the culture medium of the cultivation vessel, the liquid seed is supplied and mixed with the pressurized air and sprayed, so that the germs floating in the external atmosphere are mixed. May be mixed when sucked and supplied by the air supply device, and as a result, there may be a possibility that various bacteria floating in the external atmosphere may enter the cultivation container during inoculation of the inoculum.

Accordingly, the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and a first object of the present invention is to provide a liquid inoculum inoculation apparatus capable of minimizing invasion of various bacteria during inoculation with liquid inoculum. The second object is to provide a liquid inoculum inoculation device that can easily perform sterilization treatment and maintenance work, and the third object is to increase the inoculation work efficiency. Another object of the present invention is to provide a liquid inoculum inoculating apparatus capable of performing stable inoculum filling while keeping the amount of inoculum supplied to the cultivation container substantially constant.

[0010]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid inoculum inoculating apparatus for inoculating a liquid inoculum into a culture medium in a cultivation container, comprising: An inoculum supply line for supplying a liquid inoculum from the inoculum, a liquid inoculum pressurizing means for pressurizing and sending out the liquid inoculum inside the inoculum storage container or on the conveyance path of the inoculum supply line, A liquid inoculum injection mechanism for injecting and inoculating the liquid inoculum supplied under pressure from the pressurizing means to the culture medium of the cultivation container, and a liquid inoculum injection mechanism provided in the liquid inoculum injection mechanism, from the inoculum storage container via an inoculum supply line A liquid inoculum injecting device which comprises an injection opening / closing valve for supplying and shutting off the liquid inoculum fed under pressure.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, a valve opening / closing drive control means for switching the injection opening / closing valve to set a flow rate or an inoculation time for inoculating the liquid inoculum is provided. Liquid inoculum inoculation device.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the liquid seed injecting mechanism is connected to the seed supply line, and the liquid seed injecting cylinder body accommodating the injection on-off valve. And a spray nozzle attached and fixed to the distal end side of the cylinder body.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect of the present invention, the liquid seed injecting cylinder body of the liquid seed injecting mechanism has a supply port connected to the seed supply line, and a continuous supply port from the supply port. A hollow fluid passage through which a liquid inoculum can flow is formed, and the ejection nozzle is attached and fixed to an end portion of the hollow fluid passage, and the hollow fluid passage between the ejection nozzle and the supply port is provided in the hollow fluid passage. A liquid inoculum inoculation device, characterized in that the injection on-off valve for supplying and shutting off the liquid inoculum fed under pressure is provided.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to fourth aspects, the flow rate distribution by injection of the liquid inoculum injected into the surface portion of the culture medium filled in the cultivation container by the liquid inoculation mechanism is provided. A liquid inoculum inoculation device characterized by increasing the injection flow rate in the area of the inoculation hole formed in the surface of the culture medium with respect to the area of the surface of the normal culture medium.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the first to fifth aspects, a container in which a plurality of cultivation containers are arranged in rows and columns is supplied from a loading side, and the cultivation containers are intermittently transported while being unloaded. A transport mechanism that transports the container to the container, a lid opening and closing mechanism that opens and closes the lid of the cultivation container in the container intermittently transported by the transport mechanism, and a lid that is opened and closed by the lid opening and closing mechanism. A liquid inoculum inoculation device, comprising: the liquid inoculum injection mechanism for supplying a predetermined amount of liquid inoculum to the cultivation container in a row.

[0016]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid inoculum inoculating apparatus for inoculating a liquid inoculum into a culture medium in a cultivation container, comprising: a container for storing a liquid inoculum; An inoculum supply line for supplying the inoculum, a liquid inoculum pressurizing means for pressurizing and sending out the liquid inoculum inside the inoculum storage container or on the transport path of the inoculum supply line, A liquid inoculum injection mechanism for injecting and inoculating the liquid inoculum supplied under pressure from the means to the culture medium of the cultivation container, and a pressure infeed from the inoculum storage container via the inoculum supply pipe provided in the inoculum for inoculating the liquid inoculum. And an injection opening / closing valve for supplying and shutting off the liquid inoculum that has been supplied, so that the liquid inoculum pressurized and supplied by the liquid inoculum pressurizing means can be removed without mixing the pressurized air. Are those that can be inoculated by spraying the culture of growing container through the seed injection mechanism, there is an effect that can be suppressed as much as possible the bacteria from entering the time of inoculation.

In the first aspect, in the second aspect,
By providing a valve opening / closing drive control means for setting the flow rate or inoculation time for inoculating the liquid inoculum by switching the injection on / off valve, according to the capacity and form of the culture medium in the culture container or the medium of the culture medium, etc. The inoculum filling amount of the inoculum can be adjusted and set by the valve opening / closing drive control means, the inoculation amount of the inoculum can be kept almost constant without variation, and a stable inoculation step operation can be performed.

According to the first or second aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect of the present invention, the liquid inoculum injection mechanism is connected to the inoculum supply pipe side, and includes a liquid inoculum injection cylinder body in which the injection on-off valve is housed. For example, in the case of performing a sterilization process, by detaching the liquid seed bacteria injection cylinder body connected to the seed bacteria supply pipe side and the nozzle side, and disposing an alcohol The sterilization process or the heat sterilization process can easily perform the sterilization process, and the maintenance management of each component can be easily performed. In the present invention, the liquid seed injecting cylinder body of the liquid seed injecting mechanism has a supply port connected to the seed cell supply pipe side, and a liquid seed continuously from the supply port. Is formed, and the injection nozzle is attached and fixed to an end of the hollow fluid passage, and the hollow fluid passage between the injection nozzle and the supply port is pressurized. By disposing the injection opening / closing valve for supplying and shutting off the liquid inoculum to be supplied, the inoculum supply line connected to the supply port of the liquid inoculum injection cylinder body is removed, and the liquid inoculum injection mechanism is used. By disinfecting the inoculum injection cylinder main body, the injection nozzle and the injection on-off valve with alcohol, there is an effect that various germs can be easily treated.

According to claims 1 to 4, claim 5
According to the invention, the flow rate distribution by injection of the liquid inoculum inoculated on the surface portion of the culture medium filled in the cultivation container by the liquid inoculum injection mechanism, as compared to the area of the surface portion of the normal culture medium, the surface of the culture medium By increasing the injection flow rate in the region of the inoculation hole drilled in the part, when injecting and supplying the liquid inoculum to the place where the surface area of the culture medium has increased due to the depression by the inoculation hole, By increasing the injection flow rate of the inoculum, the inoculum is distributed almost uniformly on the surface of the culture medium, and thereby it is possible to promote the growth of hypha by the inoculum.

In claims 1 to 5, claim 6
In the invention of the present invention, a transport mechanism for supplying a container containing a plurality of cultivation containers arranged vertically and horizontally from a loading side, and transporting the container to an unloading side while intermittently transporting the cultivation container, and an intermittent transport by the transport mechanism A lid opening / closing mechanism that opens and closes the lid of the cultivation container in the container in a horizontal row unit, and cultivates a predetermined amount of the liquid inoculum to the horizontal row unit cultivation container with the lid opened by the lid opening / closing mechanism. With the provision of the liquid seed injecting mechanism to be supplied to each container, the lid of the cultivation container in the container is opened in a horizontal row unit by a lid opening and closing mechanism, and a horizontal row unit in which the lid is opened by a lid opening and closing mechanism. A predetermined amount of liquid inoculum is supplied to the cultivation container via the liquid inoculum injection mechanism and inoculated, respectively, into the cultivation container. After the inoculation, the lid is opened by the lid opening and closing mechanism. Since the lid is closed by the lid opening / closing mechanism at the mouth of the cultivation container in a row unit, the filling inoculation efficiency can be increased, and the invasion of various bacteria can be suppressed by shortening the opening time of the lid as much as possible. . In addition, the opening operation of the lid by the lid opening / closing mechanism is sequentially performed on the cultivation containers of the other horizontal row unit which are not inoculated by the intermittent transfer of the transport mechanism, the inoculation operation of the liquid inoculum by the liquid inoculation mechanism,
By repeating the closing operation of the lid by the lid opening / closing mechanism, the cultivation containers stored in the container can be continuously inoculated in a horizontal row, and after the inoculation, the cultivation containers in the container are taken out to the unloading side by the transport mechanism. Can be transferred.

[0021]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the first embodiment of the liquid inoculum inoculation apparatus according to the present invention will be described.
An embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. A transport mechanism 2 composed of a conveyor is provided over substantially the entire length of the machine frame 1 of the liquid inoculum inoculation apparatus main body, and the transport mechanism 2 is provided so as to be able to start and stop by operating a switch on an operation panel 3. A plurality of sprocket wheels 4 are pivotally supported on both ends of the frame 1, respectively, and an endless chain 5 is extended in parallel between the sprocket wheels 4 provided on both ends of the machine frame 1, and the drive source side is provided. The torque of the motor 6 is transmitted to the sprocket wheel 4.

A cultivation container 8 filled with a culture medium C such as sawdust or rice bran and sealed with a lid 7 is placed in a column 4 for example.
And a plastic container 9 containing four rows are placed on the chain 5 of the conveyor mechanism 2 consisting of a conveyor at the transfer start end, and when the transfer mechanism 2 is started, the chain 5 travels to move the container 9 to the transfer end side. It can be transported toward.

The transport mechanism 2 provided in the machine frame 1 transfers a container 9 in which a plurality of cultivation containers 8 are arranged in rows and columns from the loading side to an area where seeds are inoculated, and an area where the seeds are inoculated. Is configured to intermittently transfer the cultivation container 8 together with the container 9. in this case,
In this embodiment, a stopper mechanism 10 having a stopper pin 10A is provided as means for stopping the container 9 sent via the transport mechanism 2 when the cultivation container 8 reaches an appropriate inoculum inoculation area. , Container 9
There is provided a container positioning mechanism 11 that can position and hold the cultivation container 8 when the lid 7 is opened and closed while adjusting the position of the cultivation container 8 in the inside.

In this case, the interval between the stopper pins 10A provided on the stopper mechanism 10 of the container 9 for stopping the container 9 at a predetermined position is aligned in a column of the cultivation containers 8 stored in the container 9. The stopper mechanism 1 is arranged in two rows in accordance with the intervals of the cultivation containers 8.
The stopper pins 10A are provided so as to be vertically movable via an air cylinder 10B serving as a driving means, and the stopper pins 10A are always resiliently biased upward from the transport surface of the transport mechanism 2 independently. Is provided via a spring 10C.

The cultivation container 8 positioned and arranged in the seed inoculation region by the container positioning mechanism 11 is provided with a lid opening / closing mechanism 12 for opening and closing the lid 7 of the cultivation container 8 at a position above the seed inoculation region. In this embodiment, a lid opening / closing mechanism 12 for opening / closing a horizontal row of lids 7 arranged at the front row of a cultivation container 8 containing four columns and four rows in a container 9; A lid opening / closing mechanism 12 that opens and closes the lids 7 of the cultivation containers 8 arranged in the third row based on the front row in 9 is arranged in two rows.

Further, the lids 7 are arranged in a row and arranged in the front row of the cultivation container 8 by the operation of the lid opening / closing mechanism 12 arranged in two rows, and the lids 7 are arranged in a row and arranged in the third row. At the time of opening, the culture medium C in the cultivation container 8 in the front row and the horizontal row unit in which the lid 7 is opened in the horizontal row unit arranged in the front row and the third row and the lid 7 is opened in the horizontal row unit in the third row, Each of the liquid seed injecting mechanisms 13 arranged in two rows in a horizontal row unit
The liquid inoculum B is injected through the cultivation container 8, and the open inoculated cultivation container 8 is filled with the liquid inoculum B and inoculated. In this case, the liquid inoculum injection mechanism 13 for supplying the liquid inoculum B of the present invention into the cultivation container 8 includes the cultivation container 8.
Are arranged in two rows on the upper side where
As the horizontal one-row unit, the same number of four liquid seed injecting mechanisms 13 as the number of the cultivation containers 8 are provided at equal intervals in the horizontal one-row unit.

After the liquid inoculum B is filled and inoculated into the cultivation containers 8 in a horizontal row opened by the liquid inoculum injection mechanism 13, the lid 7 is returned to the cultivation container 8 by the return operation of the lid opening and closing mechanism 12. To adhere. Next, the container 9 is intermittently transferred by the transport mechanism 2, and the lids 7 of the cultivation containers 8 arranged in the second and fourth rows of the cultivation containers 8 in the container 9 are arranged in the two rows. The opening / closing operation is performed by the lid opening / closing mechanism 12, and the liquid inoculum B is injected by the liquid inoculum injection mechanism 13 similarly arranged in two rows and inoculated into the cultivation container 8. After the inoculation is completed, the transport mechanism 2 transfers the container 9 to the unloading side.

As shown in FIG. 1, the liquid inoculum B is stored in the inoculum container 14, and the inoculum B is supplied from the inoculum container 14 to each of the liquid inoculation mechanisms 1
In order to supply the seeds to the container 3, the seed storage container 14 and the liquid seed injection mechanism 13 are connected via a seed supply line 15 composed of a flexible tube.

In this case, in order to pressurize and supply the liquid inoculum B from the inoculum storage container 14 to the liquid inoculum injection mechanism 13 through the inoculum supply line 15 comprising the tube, a liquid inoculum B such as a compressor is provided. The air pressure is applied to the inside of the inoculum storage container 14 via the filter 17 by the pressure means 16. The liquid inoculum B pressurized and supplied by the liquid inoculum pressurizing means 16 is injected and inoculated into the culture medium C in the cultivation container 8 by the liquid inoculum injection mechanism 13. The liquid inoculum B, which has been pressure-fed from the inoculum storage container 14 via the inoculum supply line 15, is supplied and shut off by the operation of the on-off valve 18.

In this embodiment, the liquid seed injecting mechanism 1
In order to reciprocate the injection opening / closing valve 18 provided in 3 for supplying and shutting off the liquid inoculum B, the injection opening / closing valve 18
A gas pressurizing means 19 comprising a compressor or the like for supplying air to the air is provided, and flexibility is provided between the gas pressurizing means 19 and the liquid seed injection mechanism 13 provided with the injection opening / closing valve 18 via a filter 20. A gas supply pipe line 21 composed of a tube having a tube is connected thereto, and supply of air as a pressurized gas is provided between the filter 20 and the liquid seed injecting mechanism 13.
An electromagnetic valve 22 for shutting off is provided.

The filters 17 and 20 are provided for purifying the air sent from the liquid seed pressurizing means 16 and the gas pressurizing means 19 and the like. Or the germs are prevented from entering the inside of the liquid seed injecting mechanism 13.

The liquid seed injecting mechanism 13 in the first embodiment is located on the upper side through which the cultivation container 8 passes,
The same number of the four cultivation vessels 8 as the one row are arranged, and each of the liquid inoculum spraying mechanisms 13 is provided with a spray nozzle 23 at a tip side for spraying and inoculating the culture medium B in the cultivation vessel 8. The liquid inoculum injection cylinder main body 24 is provided. As shown in FIG. 13 or FIG. 14, the inoculum injection cylinder main body 24 has a inoculum supply port 24A connected to the inoculum supply pipe 15 side, and a liquid inoculum continuous from the inoculum supply port 24A. B, into which a hollow fluid passage 24B is allowed to flow.
The injection nozzle 23 is attached and fixed to the tip end side of 4B, and the supply and cutoff of the liquid seed B, which is fed under pressure, is supplied to the hollow fluid passage 24B between the injection nozzle 23 and the seed supply 24A. The injection opening / closing valve 18 for performing the operation is provided.

A valve element 18 provided on the injection on-off valve 18
A valve seat 24C that is opened or closed with the movement of the portion A is formed in the middle of the hollow fluid passage 24B,
A gas supply port 24 </ b> D connected to the end of the gas supply pipe 21 is provided on the rear end side. In addition, the injection nozzle 23
A valve element 18A provided on the injection opening / closing valve 18 with a reciprocating movement of the injection opening / closing valve 18 with respect to a valve seat 24C provided in the middle of the hollow fluid passage 24B between the injection opening / closing valve 18 and the supply port 24A. By opening or closing, the supply and shutoff of the liquid seed B fed under pressure is performed.

The injection opening / closing valve 18 has a hollow fluid passage 24B provided in the liquid seed bacteria injection cylinder main body 24.
The opening and closing of the valve body 18A is provided, and an end of a piston shaft 18B extending continuously and rearward from the valve body 18A is provided facing a gas supply port 24D of the liquid seed injection cylinder main body 24. . Further, a piston spring 18C is interposed between the large diameter portion provided on the piston shaft 18B and the liquid inoculum injection cylinder main body 24, and the valve body 1 is moved by the piston spring 18C.
8A is disposed so as to be constantly resiliently urged toward a valve seat 24C of a hollow fluid passage 24B provided in the liquid inoculum injection cylinder main body 24.

In order to maintain watertightness between the hollow fluid passage 24B provided in the liquid seed injecting cylinder main body 24 and the gas supply port 24D provided in the rear end side of the liquid seed injecting cylinder main body 24, a piston is provided. A diaphragm 18D made of a flexible material, such as synthetic rubber, serving as an airtight member is disposed between the shaft 18B and the liquid seed blast cylinder body 24.

The injection nozzle 23 attached and fixed to the distal end of the hollow fluid passage 24B of the liquid inoculum injection cylinder main body 24 is set to have a predetermined injection pattern when injecting the liquid inoculum B therein. Nozzle tip 2
3A is provided, and the liquid seed B pressurized from the injection port 23B of the injection nozzle 23 is injected toward the culture medium C of the cultivation container 8.

In the first embodiment, the surface portion of the culture medium C, which is pressurized and filled in the cultivation container 8, has
In the center, the inoculation hole C
1 is provided. The inoculation hole C1 is provided for improving the surroundings of the cultivation medium C. The inoculation hole C1 is provided for improving the air permeability of the cultivation medium C itself, and is used for inoculating the liquid inoculum B from the cultivation container 8 with the bottom of the cultivation medium C. The purpose is to make it easier for seeds to spread.

At this time, the liquid inoculum injection cylinder body 2
The flow rate distribution by injection of the liquid inoculum B inoculated on the surface of the culture medium C filled in the cultivation container 8 by the injection nozzle 23 having the built-in nozzle tip 23A attached to the tip end of the normal culture medium By increasing the injection flow rate in the region of the inoculation hole C1 formed in the surface portion of the culture medium C with respect to the area of the surface portion of the culture medium C, the area of the surface of the culture medium C is reduced by the depression caused by the inoculation hole C1. By increasing the injection flow rate of the liquid inoculum B in accordance with the location where the inoculation has increased, the liquid inoculum B can be distributed almost uniformly on the surface of the culture medium C, which can promote the growth of hypha by the inoculum. It is composed.

The liquid seed injecting cylinder body 24 provided with the four injection nozzles 23 provided in the liquid seed injecting mechanism 13 is detachably attached to the plate-shaped nozzle mounting member 26 via the nozzle fixing member 25. The nozzle mounting member 26 is fixed and held, and
7 and is detachably mounted on the support plate 2.
7 is provided so as to be able to reciprocate up and down by the operation of an air cylinder 28, and this air cylinder 28 is fixed on a cylinder support plate 29.
A piece 29A attached to and fixed to the lower end of the main frame 1 is disposed so as to be capable of reciprocating in the horizontal direction along a guide rod 30 provided on the main body frame 1 side.

In the inoculum inoculation area, each of the lid opening and closing mechanisms 12 for opening and closing the lids 7 of the cultivation containers 8 arranged in two rows is described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.
As shown in JP-A-103542 and the like, a pair of fixed clamping members 31 that enable the lids 7 of the cultivation containers 8 positioned and arranged in a horizontal row to be clamped from the upper surface side and the lower surface side. And a movable clamping member 32 composed of a clamping shaft. The movable clamping member 32 can be driven forward and backward, and each of the lids 7 in a horizontal row unit is clamped between the movable clamping member 32 and the fixed clamping member 31. And an air cylinder 33 serving as a clamping member opening / closing means for releasing the same. Each of the cylinders 33 is mounted and fixed on a cylinder holding plate 34 provided along the width direction of the machine frame 1 of the inoculation apparatus main body, and an inverted T-shaped link arm member is attached to an end of the cylinder holding plate 34. The fixed holding member 31, the movable holding member 32 and the air cylinder 33 mounted on the cylinder holding plate 34 are fixed to the link arm member 35 (the transmission moving means 3).
5) is provided so as to be movable between a lid closed position and a lid open position of the cultivation container 8 via the above 5). In this case, the link arm member 35 is provided on the machine frame 1. It is provided rotatably via a support shaft 36.

A drive cylinder 37 is provided below the transport mechanism 2, and the tip of a rod 38 provided on the drive cylinder 37 is pivotally attached to the end of the link arm member 35 to be connected and fixed. A connecting rod 39 is provided between an end of the link arm member 35 and a piece 29A fixed to a cylinder support plate 29 which is reciprocally movable along the guide rod 30. Are pivotally attached to each other and connected and fixed.

A lid opening / closing drive means for reciprocating the lid opening / closing mechanism 12 between the lid closing position and the lid opening position of the cultivation container 8 in accordance with the lid opening / closing operation of the lid opening / closing mechanism 12 by the driving cylinder 37; A seed supply driving means for reciprocating the liquid seed injecting mechanism 13 between a position where the liquid seed injecting mechanism 13 is detached from the mouth of the cultivation container 8 and a position on the mouth of the cultivation container 8 is also used. Thereby, the opening operation of the lid opening and closing mechanism 12 and the operation of moving the liquid inoculum injection mechanism 13 onto the mouth of the cultivation container 8 are operated in synchronization with each other, and the closing operation of the lid opening and closing mechanism 12 The liquid inoculum injection mechanism 13 is configured to be operated in synchronization with a moving operation of detaching the cultivation container 8 from the mouth position.

In the first embodiment, the liquid inoculum inoculation device includes a lid opening / closing mechanism 12 for opening and closing the lids 7 of the cultivation containers 8 in a unit of one row with reference to a substantially central position of the main body of the inoculum inoculation device. And two sets of lid opening / closing mechanisms 12 and 12 and two sets of liquid inoculum sprays at symmetrical positions as a set of each liquid inoculum spraying mechanism 13 for injecting and inoculating the liquid inoculum B into the cultivation container 8 in a horizontal row unit. Mechanisms 13 and 13 are provided. In other words, in the inoculum inoculation area, lid opening and closing mechanisms 12 and 12 arranged in two rows and liquid inoculation mechanisms 13 and 13 arranged in two rows are provided, respectively. ing.

Next, a series of operations of the liquid inoculum inoculation apparatus having the above-described configuration will be described. First, a container 9 containing a predetermined number of cultivation containers 8 with lids 7 is placed on the transport mechanism 2 and the container 9 is transferred. When the container 9 reaches the seed inoculation area, the transport surface of the transport mechanism 2 is moved. The position of the front end of the container 9 is regulated and stopped and held by a stopper pin 10A provided on a stopper mechanism 10 that moves up and down so as to be able to move up and down. A series of inoculation steps are configured to operate. (See FIG. 2) In this case, the position of the shoulder of the cultivation container 8 in the container 9 is regulated in advance by the container positioning mechanism 11, or the lid 7 is linked to a series of inoculation steps at the time of inoculation. Is provided so as to position and hold the cultivation container 8 when the opening and closing operation is performed.

When the cultivation container 8 is positioned and fixed, the state of FIG. 10 shifts from the state of FIG. 10 to the state of FIG. 11 by the operation of the air cylinder 33. 7 and the lids 7 of the cultivation containers 8 positioned in the third row and positioned in a horizontal row unit are pressed from their upper surfaces by the respective movable clamping members 32, and the fixed clamping members provided on the lower surface. The lid 7 is held between the movable holding member 31 and the movable holding member 32.

Next, after the positioning by the container positioning mechanism 11 is performed, and the lid 7 is clamped and held, as shown in FIG. The lid 7 is rotated by the movement of the rod 38, the lid 7 is rotated to the lid open position by the lid opening and closing mechanism 12 attached to the link arm member 35, and the link arm member 35 is rotated in synchronization with the lid opening operation. A piece 29A attached and fixed to the cylinder support plate 29 via a connecting rod 39 attached to the end moves along a guide rod 30 provided on the main body frame 1 side, and The four spray nozzles 23 provided on the liquid inoculum spray mechanism 13 by the movement are:
The cultivation container 8 is moved to the mouth portion position, that is, right above the cultivation container 8 from which the lid 7 is removed. (See FIG. 3, FIG. 7, FIG. 12, etc.)

Subsequently, by operating the air cylinder 28, the injection nozzle 23 approaches the mouth of the cultivation container 8 or is inserted and arranged in the mouth. (See FIGS. 4, 8 and 13)

Thereafter, FIG. 5, FIG. 9, FIG. 14 and FIG.
As shown in the figures, when the lid 7 of the cultivation container 8 is opened by the lid opening / closing mechanism 12, the liquid inoculum B is liquefied in a row unit with respect to the culture medium C in the cultivation container 8 in the horizontal row in which the lid 7 is opened. The cultivation container 8 is injected through the inoculum injection mechanism 13, and the opened cultivation container 8 is filled with the liquid inoculum B and inoculated.

After the liquid inoculum B is filled with a predetermined amount by the injection nozzle 14, the injection nozzle 23 provided in the liquid inoculum injection mechanism 13 by the return operation of the air cylinder 24.
Is moved away from the position of the mouth of the cultivation container 8, and thereafter, the ejection nozzle 23 is retracted from the position of the cultivation container 8 and returned by the return operation of the rod 38 of the drive cylinder 37, and at the same time, the liquid is returned by the rotation return operation of the lid opening and closing mechanism 12. The lids 7 of the horizontal cultivation containers 8 inoculated with the inoculum B are fitted.

Therefore, in the first embodiment, by sequentially operating a series of steps by the lid opening / closing mechanism 12 and the liquid seed injecting mechanism 13, the transfer direction of the container 9 in the seed inoculation area is changed. And the third row of cultivation containers 8
The cultivation containers 8 in the rows can be inoculated in horizontal row units.

When a series of inoculation steps based on the cultivation container 8 in the front row is completed, the stopper pin 10A that has stopped and held the front end of the container 9 is moved to the air cylinder 10
The container 9 once moves downward through B and then returns upward, and when the transport mechanism 2 operates, the container 9 is transported in the unloading direction. By the transfer operation of the container 9, the stopper pin 10 A which initially stopped and held the front end of the container 9 also attempts to return upward, but the stopper pin 10 A which has been stopped and held until now by the transport operation of the container 9. Has its upper end portion abutting against the bottom portion of the container 9. However, the stopper pin 1
Since the upward urging force of 0A is set to be weak, the container 9 can be smoothly transported without hindering the transportation of the container 9, and the other stoppers provided in the next row of the stopper mechanism 10 The front end side of the container 9 is stopped and held by the pins 10A.

When the container 9 is stopped, a series of inoculation steps based on the second row of the cultivation container 8 are performed by the lid opening / closing mechanism 12 and the liquid seed inoculation mechanism 13 as described above. The cultivation containers 8 in the second row and the cultivation containers 8 in the fourth row can be inoculated as shown in FIG. 16, whereby all the cultivation containers 8 in the container 9 can be inoculated.

When the inoculation process of all the cultivation containers 8 in the container 9 is completed, the stopper pin 10A of the stopper mechanism 10 is connected to the air cylinder 10B as shown in FIG.
, The container 9 containing the inoculated cultivation container 8 is transferred by the transport mechanism 2 to the unloading side, and the cultivation container 8 is newly inoculated. Is supplied from the carry-in side of the transport mechanism 2 to continuously perform the inoculation operation.

The opening operation of the lid 7 by the lid opening / closing mechanism 12 sequentially arranged in a plurality of rows (two rows in the embodiment) and the inoculation operation of the liquid inoculum B by the liquid inoculum injection mechanism 13 into the cultivation containers 8 in units of one horizontal row. By repeating the closing operation of the lid 7 by the lid opening / closing mechanism 12, the cultivation containers 8 housed in the container 9 can be continuously inoculated in one horizontal row. Thereby, the inoculation work efficiency of the liquid inoculum B can be improved, and the opening and closing operation and the inoculation operation of the lid 7 of the cultivation container 8 are performed in one horizontal row. Can be reduced as much as possible, and the invasion of various bacteria can be suppressed.

In the first embodiment of the present invention, during operation of the liquid inoculum inoculation apparatus, the inside of the inoculum container 14 storing the liquid inoculum B is filled with the liquid inoculum pressurizing means 16 such as a compressor. The internal pressure in the inoculum storage container 14 is constantly increased by applying air pressure via the filter 17, and the liquid fed from the inoculum storage container 14 with the increased internal pressure through the inoculum supply pipe 15 is The inoculum B is supplied to the inoculum supply port 24A provided in the liquid inoculum injection cylinder main body 24 and flows into the hollow fluid passage 24B in a pressurized state. (FIG. 13
And FIG. 14)

At the time of this inflow, excluding the inoculation step of injecting and inoculating the liquid inoculum B by the injection nozzle 23, the opening and closing operation of the lid opening / closing mechanism 12 or the transfer operation of the liquid inoculation mechanism 13 is as follows. The valve 18A of the injection opening / closing valve 18 is attached to the distal end side of the hollow fluid passage 24B by maintaining a closed state by contacting the valve seat 24C provided in the hollow fluid passage 24B of the liquid seed injecting cylinder main body 24. Since the liquid inoculum B is not supplied to the ejecting nozzle 23 side, the liquid inoculum B is not ejected.

That is, the liquid inoculum injection cylinder body 24
In this embodiment, as a means for maintaining the hermetically closed state of the valve seat 24C of the hollow fluid passage 24B provided by the valve body 18A of the injection on-off valve 18, pressure is applied by gas pressurizing means 19 such as a compressor. The compressed air is fed through a gas supply pipe 21 and guided to a gas supply port 24 </ b> D provided at the rear end side of the liquid seed cylinder body 24 through the filter 20. By closing the solenoid valve 22 disposed between the gas supply port 24D, the gas whose air pressure has been increased is shut off without being transmitted to the piston shaft 18B side of the injection on-off valve 18. For this reason, the valve element 1 is moved by the piston spring 18C interposed between the large diameter portion provided on the piston shaft 18B and the liquid inoculum injection cylinder main body 24.
8A is constantly urged toward the valve seat 24C of the hollow fluid passage 24B provided in the liquid inoculum injection cylinder main body 24,
The blocking state is maintained without the liquid inoculum B being supplied by the repulsive urging force. (See FIG. 13)

When the liquid inoculum B is injected (see FIGS. 5, 9, 14, and 15), the solenoid valve 22 is opened to operate the liquid inoculant injection cylinder as shown in FIG. The valve element 18A of the injection on-off valve 18 is kept open with respect to the valve seat 24C of the hollow fluid passage 24B provided in the main body 24. That is, by opening the solenoid valve 22, the air pressure-fed from the gas pressurizing means 19 via the gas supply pipe 21 is provided on the rear end side of the liquid seed injection cylinder main body 24 via the filter 20. To the supplied gas supply port 24D. The air pressurized from the gas supply port 24D is supplied to the piston shaft 1
The diaphragm 18D is pressed and bends to move because the diaphragm 18D is directly applied to the diaphragm 18D made of a flexible material disposed between the liquid injecting cylinder body 8B and the liquid seed injecting cylinder main body 24. The piston shaft 18B moves along with the movement of the diaphragm 18D due to the deflection, and the valve body 18A provided at the tip of the piston shaft 18B is connected to the hollow fluid passage 2 provided in the liquid seed injection cylinder main body 24.
The liquid inoculum B is ejected from the ejection nozzle 23 by opening the valve 18A of the ejection opening / closing valve 18 from the closed state.

At this time, the opening time of the solenoid valve 22 is set to a predetermined time, or the solenoid valve 22 is shut off when the flow rate of the liquid inoculum B reaches a predetermined amount, so that the inoculum amount of the liquid inoculum B can be adjusted appropriately. State can be set.

That is, in this embodiment, the injection on / off valve 1
8 is provided on the operation panel 3 with a valve opening / closing drive control means 3A for setting a flow rate or an inoculation time for inoculating the liquid inoculum B by switching operation of the culture medium B in the cultivation container 8.
The inoculum filling amount of the liquid inoculum C can be adjusted and set by the valve opening / closing drive control means 3A according to the volume and form of the medium or the medium of the culture medium B, and the filling amount of the liquid inoculum C can be set to a substantially constant amount without variation. , And a stable inoculation process can be performed.

In order to maintain the water-tightness between the hollow fluid passage 24B provided in the liquid seed injecting cylinder main body 24 and the gas supply port 24D provided in the rear end side of the liquid seed injecting cylinder main body 24, a piston is provided. By disposing a diaphragm 18D made of a flexible material such as synthetic rubber, which serves as an airtight member, between the shaft 18B and the liquid-seed injection cylinder body 24, the diaphragm 18D is pressurized for the switching operation of the injection on-off valve 18. Air can be blocked without being mixed into the hollow fluid passage 24B side.
The liquid inoculum B pressurized and supplied by the liquid inoculum pressurizing means 16 is opened by opening the valve body 18A in conjunction with the movement of 8D, via the injection nozzle 23 provided on the tip side of the liquid inoculum injection cylinder main body 24. The inoculation can be performed by injecting the culture medium B into the culture medium B of the cultivation container 8, and the invasion of various bacteria can be suppressed as much as possible during the inoculation.

The 4 provided in the liquid seed injecting mechanism 13
The liquid inoculum injection cylinder main body 24 having the plurality of injection nozzles 23 is fixedly held by a plate-shaped nozzle mounting member 26 so as to be detachable via a nozzle fixing member 25, and the nozzle mounting member 26 is supported by a support plate 27. It is detachably attached to and fixed to, so that it can be easily removed, and when disassembling the liquid seed injecting mechanism 13, the seed supply line connected to the supply port 24 </ b> A of the liquid seed injecting cylinder main body 24. 15 is removed, and the liquid inoculum injection cylinder body 24 which is the liquid inoculum injection mechanism 13
By disinfecting the spray nozzle 23 and the injection opening / closing valve 18 with alcohol, it is possible to easily perform various germ treatments, and it is possible to easily perform maintenance management of each part.

The injection nozzle 23 attached and fixed to the distal end side of the hollow fluid passage 24B of the liquid inoculum injection cylinder main body 24 is set to have a predetermined injection pattern when injecting the liquid inoculum B into the inside thereof. Nozzle tip 2
3A, the injection port 2 of the injection nozzle 23 is provided.
The liquid inoculum B pressurized from 3B is the culture medium C of the cultivation container 8
When spraying toward the surface of the culture medium B, the flow rate distribution by the injection of the liquid inoculum C inoculated on the surface of the culture medium B filled in the cultivation container 8 is used to inoculate the area of the surface of the normal culture medium B. By increasing the injection flow rate of the liquid inoculum C in accordance with the area where the surface area of the culture medium B has increased due to the depression due to the hole B1, the inoculum spreads almost uniformly over the entire surface of the culture medium B, and as a result, It is possible to encourage the growth of hyphae.

FIG. 18 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. The basic configuration of the second embodiment is almost the same as that of the first embodiment described above. A container 9 containing a plurality of containers 8 arranged in rows and columns is transferred from the loading side to a region where the inoculum is inoculated, and the cultivation container 8 is intermittently transported together with the container 9 by the transport mechanism 2 in the inoculation region of the inoculum. It is configured to be transported. In this embodiment, in a liquid inoculum inoculation apparatus, a lid opening / closing mechanism 1 for opening / closing a lid 7 of a cultivation container 8 in a unit of horizontal row.
2 and a liquid inoculum injection mechanism 13 for injecting and inoculating the liquid inoculum B into the cultivation containers 8 in units of one row.

In the container 9, the cultivation containers 8
Cultivation containers 8
When the cultivation container 8 in the container 9 sent via the transport mechanism 2 when the cultivation container 8 reaches the appropriate inoculum inoculation area, the cultivation container 8 The lid 7 of the cultivation container 8 is opened, and the cultivation container C in the cultivation container 8 in a row is opened through the injection nozzle 23 of the liquid seed injecting mechanism 13 with the lid 7 opened. 8, a liquid inoculum B is filled and inoculated, and after this inoculation, the lid 7 is closed to the cultivation container 8 by the return operation of the lid opening / closing mechanism 12, whereby a series of inoculation steps based on the cultivation container 8 in the front row are performed. The system is configured so that a series of inoculation steps are performed in units of horizontal rows, sequentially from the front row to the rear row in units of horizontal rows.

The liquid inoculum B is stored in the inoculum container 14. The inoculum is formed of a flexible tube in order to supply the inoculum B from the inoculum container 14 to the respective inoculum injection mechanisms 13. The inoculum storage container 14 and the liquid inoculum injection mechanism 13 are connected via a supply pipe 15.

In the second embodiment, the liquid inoculum B is transferred from the inoculum storage container 14 to the inoculum supply line 15 comprising the tube.
In order to pressurize and supply to the liquid seed injecting mechanism 13 via the liquid seed injecting mechanism 13, a liquid seed pump comprising a fluid-driven pump or the like is provided at 15 places of the seed bacterial supply pipe between the seed incubating container 14 and the liquid seed injecting mechanism 13. A pressure means 16A is provided, and the liquid inoculum B is supplied under pressure to the liquid inoculum ejecting mechanism 13 via the liquid inoculum pressurizing means 16A.

The liquid inoculum B pressurized and supplied by the liquid inoculum pressurizing means 16A is injected into the culture medium C in the cultivation container 8 by the liquid inoculum injection mechanism 13 and inoculated. By the operation of the injection opening / closing valve 18, the supply and shutoff of the liquid inoculum B pressure-fed from the inoculum storage container 14 via the inoculum supply line 15 are performed.

In this embodiment, the liquid seed injecting mechanism 1
As means for reciprocating the injection opening / closing valve 18 for supplying and shutting off the liquid inoculum B provided in 3, an electromagnetic driving means 19A including an electromagnet and an armature is provided, and is linked with the operation of the electromagnetic driving means 19A. Valve opening / closing drive control means 3 for switching the injection opening / closing valve 18 to set the time for inoculating the liquid inoculum B or the flow rate for inoculation.
A is provided on the operation panel 3. Electromagnetic driving means 1
Although not shown, the shaft provided with the valve element provided on the injection on-off valve 18 is configured to reciprocate by the operation of 9A, similar to the first embodiment described above. in this case,
Since the reciprocating operation of the injection opening / closing valve 18 is performed by the electromagnetic driving means 19A, the driving means by pneumatic pressure is not used, so that the air may be mixed when the liquid inoculum B is injected by the liquid inoculum injection mechanism 13. As a result, invasion of various bacteria can be prevented.

Also in the second embodiment, the first
In the same manner as in the embodiment, the lid 7 is opened and closed by the lid opening / closing mechanism 12 with respect to the cultivation containers 8 in units
The cultivation containers 8 stored in the container 9 can be continuously inoculated in a horizontal row based on the repetition of the inoculation operation of the liquid inoculum B by the inoculation operation and the closing operation of the lid 7 by the lid opening / closing mechanism 12. The inoculation work efficiency of the liquid inoculum B can be improved, and the opening and closing operation of the lid 7 of the cultivation container 8 and the inoculation operation are performed in one horizontal row, so that the time for opening the lid 7 of the cultivation container 8 is shortened. Thus, invasion of various bacteria can be suppressed as much as possible.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the present invention. In the first embodiment, the horizontal one-row unit positioned at the front row In order to inoculate the container 9 with reference to the cultivation container 8, the container 9 is stopped by the stopper mechanism 10 that stops at the front end of the container 9 as a means for intermittently setting transfer and stop while sending the container 9 by the transport mechanism 2. Although the operation of the transport mechanism 2 is stopped without using the stopper mechanism 10 as in the second embodiment, the stop position of the transport mechanism 2 can be determined only by controlling the rotation of the motor. In the embodiment, the position of the front end of the container 9 is detected by a detecting sensor for stopping the cultivation container 8 at a predetermined position in the inoculum inoculation area. In this case, a detection sensor is arranged in a positional relationship where the cultivation container 8 is conveyed, the cultivation container 8 is detected by the detection sensor, and based on the detection signal, The transfer of the transport mechanism 2 may be stopped when the cultivation container 8 reaches a predetermined inoculum inoculation area.

A container positioning mechanism 11 is provided for positioning and holding the cultivation container 8 when opening and closing the lid 7 while positioning the cultivation container 8 in the container 9. 8 may be a rail-shaped holding member for holding and holding the shoulder, or an arm-shaped holding plate may be movably provided. At least when the lid 7 is opened and closed, the cultivation container 8 is regulated. What is necessary is just to hold | maintain.

As the lid opening / closing mechanism 12 in the embodiment, the lid 7 of the cultivation container 8 positioned and arranged in a horizontal line is composed of a pair of a fixed clamping member 31 and a clamping shaft capable of clamping the lid 7 from the upper and lower surfaces thereof. An air cylinder 33 for moving the movable clamping member 32 forward and backward, and clamping and releasing each of the lids 7 in a row in a row between the movable clamping member 32 and the fixed clamping member 31 is provided. Was provided,
In addition to applying a lid opening / closing mechanism composed of a pinching claw, a lid moving unit is provided for detaching the lid 7 from the cultivation container 8, and the lid 7 detached by the operation of the lid moving unit is removed. The cultivation container 8 may be configured to reciprocate between a lid closed position and a lid open position.

In reciprocating the liquid inoculum spraying mechanism 13 between the position where the liquid inoculation mechanism 13 is detached from the mouth of the cultivation vessel 8 and the position on the mouth of the cultivation vessel, in the embodiment, the lid opening and closing mechanism 12 is used. The injection nozzle 23 provided in the liquid inoculum injection mechanism 13 is driven by a driving cylinder 37 so as not to hinder the operation.
Is arranged so as to be able to reciprocate in the horizontal direction along the guide rod 30 by the operation of, and vertically reciprocate by the air cylinder 28 so as to approach and separate from the cultivation container 8 from a position directly above the cultivation container 8. Although it was provided and configured as possible, only a structure that reciprocates the liquid inoculum injection mechanism 13 in the horizontal direction may be adopted in some cases. It is also possible to adopt a structure in which the liquid seed injecting mechanism 13 is moved up and down at a position directly above the cultivation container 8 in accordance with the positional relationship. In this case, the liquid inoculating mechanism 13 is set so as not to hinder the operation of the lid opening and closing mechanism 12. Just do it.

In each of the above embodiments, the maintenance,
For inspection or sterilization, the injection nozzle 23 and the tubes 15 and 21 on the side supplying the liquid inoculum B need to be replaced (washed, disinfected, etc.) if necessary (for example). It is desirable that the fixing means can be easily replaced.

Further, by setting the setting position of the injection nozzle 23 so as to be adjustable in accordance with the height and size of the cultivation container 8 and the positional relationship of the cultivation container 8 to be accommodated in the container 9, etc. , The liquid inoculum B can be sprayed well and inoculated.

When the liquid inoculum B in the inoculum storage container 17 is exhausted, the tube or pipe is switched to another inoculum storage container 14 filled with the inoculum B, thereby connecting the inoculum storage container 14 to the inoculum storage container 14. The replacement operation can be performed satisfactorily, and in some cases, a plurality of
And when the liquid inoculum B in the inoculum storage container 14 is exhausted, the operation can be easily performed by switching the valve.

In each of the above-described embodiments, the lid opening / closing drive means for reciprocating the lid opening / closing mechanism 12 between the lid closing position and the lid opening position of the cultivation container 8;
3 is constituted by the drive cylinder 37, which also serves as a liquid seed supply driving means for reciprocating between a position separated from the mouth position of the cultivation container 8 and a position on the mouth of the cultivation container 8, Each drive means may be provided individually, and may be operated using a drive means such as a cam mechanism or a motor as the drive means.

In each of the above-described embodiments, the cultivation bottle is used as the cultivation container 8 for storing the culture medium C. However, a packaging bag may be used as the container, and the cultivation container is placed in the container 9. Although the liquid inoculum B was inoculated while being transported in a state where 8 was stored, the inoculation may be performed while the cultivation container is directly placed on the transport mechanism and transported.

In the cultivation medium C housed in the cultivation container including the packaging bag, the inoculation hole C1 is provided substantially at the center of the surface of the cultivation medium C in the embodiment. What is necessary is just to set suitably, and in some cases, it is not necessary to provide an inoculation hole, and the injection form by the injection nozzle 23 provided in the liquid seed injection mechanism 13 may be set according to the surface shape of the culture medium. .

In the embodiment, the operation of the injection on-off valve 18 is switched by pneumatic control or electromagnetic control, but may be switched by hydraulic control or reciprocation by a cam mechanism.

[0082]

As described in detail above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid inoculum inoculation apparatus for inoculating a liquid inoculum into a culture medium in a cultivation container. An inoculum supply line for supplying liquid inoculum from this inoculum storage container, and a liquid inoculum pressurizing means for pressurizing and sending out liquid inoculum inside the inoculum storage container or on the conveyance path of the inoculum supply line. A liquid inoculum injection mechanism for injecting and inoculating the liquid inoculum pressurized and supplied from the liquid inoculum pressurizing means to the culture medium of the cultivation container, and a liquid inoculum injection mechanism provided in the liquid inoculum injection mechanism, An injection opening / closing valve for supplying and shutting off the liquid seeds fed through the supply line, thereby providing pressurized supply by the liquid seed pressurizing means without mixing the pressurized air. The are those liquid inoculum can be inoculated by spraying the culture medium cultivation vessel through the liquid inoculum injection mechanism, there is an effect that can be suppressed as much as possible the bacteria from entering the time of inoculation.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a valve opening / closing drive control means for switching the injection opening / closing valve to set a flow rate or an inoculation time for inoculating the liquid inoculum. Thereby, the inoculum filling amount of the inoculum can be adjusted and set by the valve opening / closing drive control means according to the capacity and form of the culture medium in the cultivation container or the medium of the culture medium, and the filling amount of the inoculum is almost constant without variation. The amount can be maintained, and a stable inoculation process can be performed.

According to the first or second aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect of the present invention, the liquid seed injecting mechanism is connected to the side of the seed supply line, and the liquid seed injecting cylinder accommodates the injection on-off valve. By comprising a main body and an injection nozzle attached and fixed to the distal end side of the cylinder main body, for example, when performing sterilization processing, the liquid inoculum injection cylinder main body and the nozzle side connected to the inoculum supply pipe side are used. By removing, alcohol sterilization or heat sterilization, sterilization can be performed easily,
In addition, in the third aspect of the present invention, the liquid inoculum injection cylinder body of the liquid inoculum injection mechanism includes:
A supply port connected to the inoculum supply pipe side and a hollow fluid passage through which liquid inoculum can flow continuously from the supply port are formed, and the injection nozzle is attached to an end of the hollow fluid passage. A liquid-seed injecting cylinder, which is fixed and is provided with the injection opening / closing valve for supplying and shutting off the liquid-seed which is fed under pressure in the hollow fluid passage between the injection nozzle and the supply port. It is said that by removing the inoculum supply pipe connected to the supply port of the main body and disinfecting the liquid inoculum injection cylinder body, which is the liquid inoculum injection mechanism, the injection nozzle and the injection on-off valve, with alcohol, it is possible to easily perform various bacterial treatment effective.

Further, according to any one of the first to fourth aspects of the present invention, in the invention of the fifth aspect, the flow rate distribution by injection of the liquid inoculum injected into the surface portion of the culture medium filled in the cultivation container by the liquid inoculum injection mechanism. By increasing the injection flow rate in the area of the inoculation hole drilled in the surface of the culture medium with respect to the area of the surface of the normal culture medium, the area of the surface of the culture medium is reduced by the depression due to the inoculation hole. When the liquid inoculum is sprayed and supplied to the increased locations, the inoculum is almost uniformly distributed on the surface of the culture medium by increasing the injection flow rate of the inoculum, thereby promoting the growth of hypha by the inoculum. It becomes possible.

According to the first to fifth aspects of the present invention, according to the sixth aspect of the present invention, a container in which a plurality of cultivation containers are arranged vertically and horizontally is supplied from a carry-in side, and the cultivation containers are intermittently transferred to a carry-out side. A transport mechanism that transports the container to the container, a lid opening and closing mechanism that opens and closes the lid of the cultivation container in the container intermittently transported by the transport mechanism, and a lid that is opened and closed by the lid opening and closing mechanism. The liquid inoculum injection mechanism that supplies a predetermined amount of liquid inoculum to the cultivation container for each row of cultivation containers is provided, so that the lid of the cultivation container in the container is horizontally aligned by the lid opening and closing mechanism. A predetermined amount of liquid inoculum is supplied into the cultivation container through the liquid inoculation mechanism and inoculated into the cultivation container, and the inoculation is performed. After the inoculation, the lid is closed by the lid opening and closing mechanism at the mouth of the cultivation container in a horizontal row in which the lid is opened by the lid opening and closing mechanism, so that the filling inoculation efficiency can be increased and the lid opening time can be increased. Can be suppressed as much as possible to prevent invasion of various bacteria. The lid is opened and closed by the lid opening and closing mechanism, the liquid inoculant is inoculated by the liquid inoculation mechanism, and the lid is opened and closed by the lid opening and closing mechanism for the other cultivation containers that are not inoculated along with the intermittent transfer of the transport mechanism. By repeating the closing operation, the cultivation containers stored in the container can be continuously inoculated in horizontal row units, and after the inoculation, the cultivation containers in the container can be transferred to the unloading side by the transport mechanism. it can.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the entire configuration of a liquid inoculum inoculation apparatus showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing a main part of the liquid inoculum inoculation apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front view of a main part showing an operation state of a lid opening / closing mechanism and a liquid seed injecting mechanism of the liquid seed inoculation apparatus of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a front view of a waist showing a state in which an injection nozzle of the liquid inoculum injection mechanism of FIG. 3 is moved downward toward a cultivation container.

FIG. 5 is a front view of an essential part showing a state where the liquid inoculum is ejected from an injection nozzle after the liquid inoculum ejection mechanism is moved toward the cultivation container side.

FIG. 6 is a side view showing a main part of the liquid seed injecting mechanism when the lid is closed, corresponding to FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is a side view showing a main part of the liquid seed injecting mechanism when the lid is opened corresponding to FIG. 3;

FIG. 8 is a side view of a main part showing a state in which the injection nozzle of the liquid inoculum injection mechanism corresponding to FIG. 4 is moved closer to the cultivation container side.

FIG. 9 is a side view of a main part showing a state of spraying liquid bacteria by a spray nozzle of the liquid seed machine supply mechanism corresponding to FIG. 5;

FIG. 10 is a side view showing a main part of a lid opening / closing mechanism corresponding to FIG. 2;

11 is a side view showing an operation state (lid holding state) of a movable holding member in the lid opening / closing mechanism of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a side view of a main part showing a state in which a lid of the cultivation container is removed from a state in which the lid is sandwiched in FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a front view of a main part showing a state in which the injection nozzle of the liquid inoculum injection mechanism corresponding to FIGS. 4 and 8 is moved closer to the cultivation container side.

FIG. 14 is a front view of a main part showing a state in which the liquid seed bacterium is ejected by the ejection nozzle of the liquid seed machine supply mechanism corresponding to FIGS. 5 and 9;

FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of an inoculation step showing a state in which a liquid inoculum is inoculated with reference to a cultivation container in the front row.

FIG. 16 is a schematic view of an inoculation step showing a state in which a liquid inoculum is inoculated with reference to a second row of cultivation containers.

FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram showing a container transport state after completion of the inoculation step of all cultivation containers in the container.

FIG. 18 is a front view showing a main part of a liquid inoculum inoculating apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

B Liquid Seed C Culturing Base C1 Inoculation Hole 1 Machine Frame 2 Transport Mechanism 3 Operation Panel 3A Valve Open / Close Drive Control Means 7 Lid 8 Cultivation Container 9 Container 10 Stopper Mechanism 11 Container Positioning Mechanism 12 Lid Opening / Closing Mechanism 13 Liquid Seed Injection Mechanism 14 Seed Storage Vessel 15 Seed supply line 16, 16A Liquid seed pressurizing means 17 Filter 18 Injection on-off valve 18A Valve 18B Piston shaft 18C Piston spring 18D Diaphragm 19 Gas pressurizing means 19A Electromagnetic drive means 20 Filter 21 Gas supply line 22 Electromagnetic valve Reference Signs List 23 Injection nozzle 23A Nozzle tip 23B Injection port 24 Liquid inoculum injection cylinder main body 24A Supply port 24B Hollow fluid passage 24C Valve seat 24D Gas supply port 25 Nozzle fixing member 26 Nozzle mounting member 27 Support plate 28 Air cylinder 29 Sillin Support plate 29 Piece 30 Guide rod 31 Fixed clamping member 32 Movable clamping member (clamping shaft) 33 Air cylinder 34 Cylinder holding plate 35 Link arm member (transmission moving means) 36 Support shaft 37 Drive cylinder (Lid opening / closing driving means) , Inoculum supply driving means) 38 rod 39 connecting rod

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A liquid inoculum inoculating apparatus for inoculating a liquid inoculum into a culture medium in a cultivation container, a seed inoculation container storing the liquid inoculum, and a seed inoculation tube for supplying the liquid inoculum from the inoculation container. And a liquid inoculum pressurizing means for pressurizing and sending out liquid inoculum inside the inoculum storage container or on the transport path of the inoculum supply conduit, and the liquid pressurized and supplied from the inoculum pressurizing means. A liquid inoculum injection mechanism for injecting and inoculating the inoculum by injecting the inoculum into the culture medium of the cultivation container, and supplying and blocking the liquid inoculum provided in the liquid inoculum injection mechanism and being pressure-fed from the inoculum storage container through the inoculum supply line. A liquid inoculum inoculation device, comprising: 2. A liquid inoculum inoculating apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a valve opening / closing drive control means for switching the injection on / off valve to set a flow rate or an inoculation time for inoculating the liquid inoculum. . 3. The liquid seed germ injection mechanism is connected to the seed germ supply pipe side and houses a liquid germ injection cylinder main body in which the injection opening / closing valve is housed, and an injection nozzle attached and fixed to a tip end side of the cylinder main body. The liquid inoculum inoculation device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the device is constituted by: 4. A liquid inoculum injection cylinder main body of the liquid inoculum injection mechanism has a supply port connected to the inoculum supply pipe side, and a hollow fluid passage through which liquid inoculum can flow continuously from the supply port. The injection nozzle is attached and fixed to an end portion of the hollow fluid passage, and the supply and shut off of the liquid seeds fed under pressure is performed in the hollow fluid passage between the injection nozzle and the supply port. The liquid inoculum inoculation device according to claim 3, wherein the injection opening / closing valve for performing the above is arranged. 5. The flow rate distribution by injection of liquid inoculum inoculated on the surface portion of the culture medium filled in the cultivation container by the liquid inoculum injection mechanism, the area of the surface area of the ordinary culture medium, The liquid inoculum inoculation device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the injection flow rate is increased in a region of the inoculation hole formed in the surface portion. 6. A transport mechanism for supplying a container containing a plurality of cultivation containers arranged in rows and columns from a loading side, and transporting the containers to an unloading side while intermittently transporting the cultivation containers,
A lid opening and closing mechanism that operates to open and close the lid of the cultivation container in the container intermittently transferred by the transport mechanism in a horizontal row unit,
The cultivation container of a horizontal row in which the lid is opened by the lid opening / closing mechanism is provided with the liquid inoculum injection mechanism for supplying a predetermined amount of liquid inoculum into the cultivation container, respectively. The liquid inoculum inoculation device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.