JP2008301734A - Animal-raising apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an animal-raising apparatus which can correct the error of data caused on the exchange of consumed materials, or at recovery of excrements to give more accurate metabolic data. <P>SOLUTION: This substantially airtight animal-raising apparatus 1 includes a case 10 for providing a living space for an animal, an exhaust pipe 21 for exhausting air from the case, an air-adjusting system 20 for adjusting the air exhausted through the exhaust pipe 21, an air supply pipe 22 for supplying the air adjusted with the air adjusting system 20 to the case, a consumed material exchange air lock system 30 for exchanging the consumed material of the air-adjusting system, and/or an excrement recovery air lock system 40 for recovering excrements from the animal. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an animal breeding apparatus, and more particularly to a substantially airtight animal breeding apparatus.

  Metabolic cages for measuring urinary and fecal excretion as metabolic data are commercially available. However, in the conventional metabolic cage, the inside of the cage is not shut off from the outside air, and the inside of the cage is maintained in an environment suitable for breeding by exchanging the air inside the cage with the outside air (for example, the actual 5- 27673, Japanese Utility Model Publication 4-122348). For this reason, the obtained metabolic data is limited to urine and feces excretion. Further, in the conventional metabolic cage, the breeding environment is easily influenced by the outside air, and conversely, odor, water vapor, etc. leak to the outside air. For this reason, the conventional metabolic cage has room for improvement from the viewpoint of grasping metabolic data on more items and from the viewpoint of outside air pollution.

  Also known is a metabolic cage capable of acquiring exhalation data as metabolic data (see, for example, JP-A-4-215033). However, in the technique described in JP-A-4-215033, since outside air is taken in and exhaled air is collected in a one-way air flow (open loop), static metabolic data under a constant outside air condition ( Exhalation data) can be obtained, but it is difficult to obtain dynamic metabolic data associated with changes in outside air conditions.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 5-027673 Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 4-122348 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-215033

  Therefore, by installing the environmental control system in a completely sealed cage, it is possible to breed animals in a state of being completely cut off from the outside air without exchanging with the outside air. However, when exchanging consumables used to remove moisture and carbon dioxide, or when excreta such as urine and feces are collected, the closed system collapses, making it difficult to obtain accurate metabolic data. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an animal breeding apparatus that can correct errors in data generated when exchanging consumables and recovering excrement and obtain more accurate metabolic data.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a substantially airtight animal breeding device comprising:
A case of providing animal living space;
An exhaust pipe for discharging air from the case;
An air adjustment system for adjusting the air discharged through the exhaust pipe;
An air supply pipe for supplying air adjusted by the air adjustment system to the case;
A consumable material replacement air lock system for replacing the consumable material of the air adjustment system,
A consumables replacement airlock room provided adjacent to the air conditioning system;
A consumable material replacement shutter that is openable and closable provided between the air adjustment system and the consumable material replacement air lock room;
A consumable material replacement door that can be opened and closed provided in the consumable material replacement air lock room;
There is provided an apparatus having a consumable material replacement airlock system having moving means for moving the consumable material between the air adjustment system and the airlock room when the shutter is opened.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a substantially airtight animal breeding device comprising:
A case of providing animal living space;
An exhaust pipe for discharging air from the case;
An air adjustment system for adjusting the air discharged through the exhaust pipe;
An air supply pipe for supplying air adjusted by the air adjustment system to the case;
An excrement collecting air lock system for collecting excrement from animals,
An air lock room for excrement collection provided below the living space of the case;
An openable / closable excrement collection shutter provided between the living space and the excrement collection air lock room;
There is provided an apparatus having an excrement collection air lock system having an openable and closable excrement collection door provided in the excrement collection air lock room.

  As will be described in detail below, according to the present invention, there is provided an animal breeding apparatus that can correct errors in data generated when exchanging consumables and recovering excrement and obtain more accurate metabolic data. Provided.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the following description is for specifically explaining the present invention, and is not intended to limit the technical scope of the present invention.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of an animal breeding apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of an animal breeding apparatus according to the present invention. As described above, according to the present invention, a substantially airtight animal breeding apparatus 1 is provided. The animal breeding apparatus according to the present invention is substantially airtight, does not exchange with the outside air, and can breed the animal in a state where it is substantially completely blocked from the outside air. In this specification, “substantially airtight” is also simply referred to as “airtight”, and the degree of airtightness can be appropriately set according to the purpose of use of the animal breeding apparatus.

  The animal breeding apparatus according to the present invention can target any animal. In particular, the animal to be reared is preferably a laboratory animal, and is preferably a mammal such as a mouse, rat, dog or monkey.

  The animal breeding apparatus according to the present invention has a case 10 for providing a living space for animals. The case can be made of any material as long as the airtightness of the apparatus can be ensured. The case has an animal door for entering and exiting the animal. The animal door is preferably close to the case through a seal in order to ensure airtightness. In addition, the case may be one in which an animal is directly raised, or a case in which a cage is fitted in the case and the animal is raised in the cage. That is, in the latter case, for example, a commercially available non-sealed cage (if a excrement collection system is provided on the bottom surface of the cage, it may be removed and only the cage may be used). It may be fitted inside and rearing animals in the cage. Moreover, it is preferable that the animal breeding apparatus concerning this invention further has the feeder 11 and the water feeder 12 which were provided adjacent to the living space of the case. Animals can be bred by supplying food and water to these and providing flooring material on the floor of the living space of the case as necessary.

  The animal breeding apparatus according to the present invention is adjusted by an exhaust pipe 21 for exhausting air from the case, an air adjustment system 20 for adjusting air exhausted through the exhaust pipe, and the air adjustment system. And an air supply pipe 22 for supplying the air to the case. The animal breeding apparatus according to the present invention further includes an air circulator 23 for discharging air from the case to the air adjustment system and supplying air from the air adjustment system to the case. As described above, in the present invention, by providing the air adjustment system in the closed system, the exchange with the outside air is not performed (that is, it is not influenced by the outside environment and the place is not selected), and the outside air is substantially the same. Thus, it is possible to keep the animal for a long time in a state where it is completely blocked.

  Further, in the above open loop system, it is difficult to grasp the correlation between each metabolic data. In an open loop system, it is possible to obtain metabolic data by changing the outside air condition (environmental condition), but it is difficult to select the condition to change unless the correlation (time change) between each environmental condition component is known. It is. On the other hand, by making a closed loop as described above, it becomes easy to continuously grasp the correlation between the temporal change of each component of the outdoor air condition (environmental condition) and metabolism. For example, by changing the adjustment performance of a specific component in the air adjustment system, it promotes metabolic changes with respect to environmental condition changes, and by acquiring continuous data on the adjustment performance (adjustment amount) of each component, It is possible to grasp metabolic changes.

  The air adjustment system is for adjusting the state of air. Thereby, the state of air that can be changed by breeding of animals can be constantly maintained. Moreover, the air state can be arbitrarily adjusted according to the purpose of animal breeding (for example, according to the purpose of the test). Specifically, the air state that can be adjusted by the air adjustment system may include at least one selected from the group consisting of air temperature, humidity, total pressure, oxygen concentration, carbon dioxide concentration, and trace gas concentration. preferable. Examples of the trace gas include ammonia, methane, and methyl mercaptan. In order to adjust the air condition, the air conditioning system has at least one selected from the group consisting of a heat exchanger 24, a moisture remover, an oxygen supplier, a carbon dioxide remover, and a trace gas remover. Is preferred. In general, a consumable material 25 such as a dehydrating material, a carbon dioxide adsorbent and a trace gas adsorbent is used for the moisture remover, the carbon dioxide remover and the trace gas remover. The consumable material is preferably mounted on the air adjustment system as a unit for each functional unit.

  The animal breeding apparatus according to the present invention preferably has a consumable material replacement air lock system 30 for replacing the consumable material of the air adjustment system. As described above, in the conventional animal breeding apparatus, when replacing the consumable material, the sealed system collapses and it is difficult to obtain accurate metabolic data. However, in the present invention, by providing an airlock system for exchanging consumables, it is possible to correct data errors that occur when exchanging consumables and to obtain more accurate metabolic data.

Specifically, the airlock system for consumables replacement is
A consumable material replacement airlock room 31 provided adjacent to the air conditioning system;
An openable / closable consumable material replacement shutter 32 provided between the air adjustment system and the consumable material replacement air lock room;
An openable / closable consumable material replacement door 33 provided in the consumable material replacement airlock room;
And moving means for moving the consumable material between the air adjustment system and the air lock room when the shutter is opened. The consumable material replacement air lock system preferably further includes a consumable material replacement air lock room monitor 35 for monitoring the state of air in the consumable material replacement air lock room.

  The consumable material replacement air lock room 31 is provided adjacent to the air adjustment system, and is an airtight space sandwiched between the consumable material replacement shutter and the consumable material replacement door, as will be described later. The consumable material can be exchanged from the air adjustment system through the consumable material replacement air lock room (that is, through the consumable material replacement shutter and the consumable material replacement door). As will be described later, in order to monitor the state of air in the consumable material replacement air lock room, the consumable material replacement air lock room monitor is preferably connected to the consumable material replacement air lock room.

  The consumable material replacement shutter 32 is provided between the air adjustment system and the consumable material replacement air lock room, and allows the air adjustment system and the consumable material replacement air lock room to be hermetically separated. In order to ensure airtightness, it is preferable that the shutter can be in close contact with the air adjustment system and / or the consumable material replacement air lock room via a seal.

  The consumable material replacement door 33 is provided in the consumable material replacement air lock room so as to be openable and closable. It is preferable that the consumable material replacement door can be in close contact with the consumable material replacement air lock room via a seal in order to ensure airtightness.

  The moving means 34 is for moving the consumable material between the air adjustment system and the air lock room when the shutter is opened. As the moving means, an elastic body (spring, rubber, etc.) capable of adjusting the elastic force can be used. Specifically, in order to move the consumable material from the air adjustment system to the air lock room, the elastic force can be adjusted so that a load can be applied in the direction of pushing the consumable material from the air adjustment system to the air lock room. An elastic body can be provided in the air conditioning system. In addition, in order to move the consumable material from the air lock room to the air adjustment system, an elastic body whose elastic force can be adjusted so that a load can be applied in the direction of pushing the consumable material from the air lock room to the air adjustment system. Can be provided in the air lock room (for example, in a consumable material replacement door of the air lock room).

  For example, as shown in FIG. 3A, when the shutter is opened by making the elastic force of the elastic body 34b (air lock room side) sufficiently larger than the elastic force of the elastic body 34a (air adjustment system side). The consumable material attached to the air lock room can be moved to the air adjustment system side. On the contrary, as shown in FIG. 3B, by making the elastic force of the elastic body 34b sufficiently smaller than that of the elastic body 34a, when the shutter is opened, the air adjustment system side is moved to the air lock room side. The consumable material can be moved. In addition, by using a means for tilting the air adjustment system and the air lock room as the moving means, the consumable material can be slid by tilting the air adjustment system and the air lock room without using an elastic material using gravity. It is also possible to move it.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart schematically showing an operating method of the consumable material replacement air lock system of the animal breeding apparatus according to the present invention. When adjusting the air, the consumable material replacement air lock system can be operated as follows.
(0) Close at least one of the shutter and the door. Thereby, animals can be raised while adjusting air in a closed system.

Further, when exchanging the consumable material, the consumable material replacement air lock system can be operated as follows.
(1) Close the door. (When adjusting the air with the door open)
(2) Open the shutter. (When adjusting the air with the shutter closed)
(3) The consumable material is moved from the air adjustment system to the air lock room by the moving means. (Loosen the elastic force of the elastic body provided on the door.)
(4) Close the shutter.
(5) Measure the air condition in the air lock room.
(6) Open the door.
(7) Replace the consumables.
(8) Then, a new consumable material is mounted on the air adjustment system by the reverse procedure.

  When replacing consumables, the consumable replacement airlock system guides consumables to the air lock room sandwiched between the shutter and the door, and grasps the state of air in the airlock room at that time. It becomes possible. As a result, it is possible to grasp the state of air that enters and exits the closed system when exchanging consumables, and it is possible to correct errors that occur in metabolic data.

  The animal breeding apparatus according to the present invention preferably has a waste collection system for collecting excrement from animals. As a result, it becomes possible to breed animals for a long period of time, and it becomes easy to measure the excretion amount of urine and feces as metabolic data.

The excrement collection system
A room for excrement collection provided below the living space of the case;
It is preferable to have an openable / closable excrement collection door provided in the excrement collection room. It is preferable that the excrement collection system further includes a floor portion 44 provided between the living space and the excrement collection room through which excrement can pass. Moreover, it is preferable that the excrement collection | recovery system further has the excrement collection | recovery device 46 provided in the said excrement collection | recovery room. It is preferable that the excrement collector has a separation unit that separates urine and feces.

  In particular, the excrement collection system is preferably an excrement collection air lock system 40. As described above, in the conventional animal breeding apparatus, the sealed system collapses when excrement is collected, and it is difficult to obtain accurate metabolic data. However, in the present invention, by providing an excrement collection air lock system, it is possible to correct an error in data generated when excrement is collected and to obtain more accurate metabolic data.

Specifically, the excrement collection air lock system
An excrement collecting air lock room 41 provided below the living space of the case;
An openable / closable excrement collection shutter 42 provided between the living space and the excrement collection air lock room;
It is preferable to have an openable / closable excrement collection door 43 provided in the excrement collection air lock room. The waste collection air lock system preferably further includes a waste collection air lock room monitor 45 for monitoring the state of air in the waste collection air lock room.

  The excrement collection air lock room 41 is provided below the housing space of the case, and is an airtight space sandwiched between the excrement collection shutter and the excrement collection door, as will be described later. Preferably, an excrement collector is disposed in a position where the excrement can be collected in the excrement recovery air lock room. By opening the excrement collection shutter when raising animals, collect excrement from animals in the air lock room for excrement collection through the floor described later, and collect excrement through the excrement collection door. Can do. As will be described later, in order to monitor the state of air in the excrement collection air lock room, it is preferable that the excrement collection air lock room monitor is connected to the excrement collection air lock room.

  The floor portion 44 is provided between the living space and the excrement collection room, and excrement can pass from the living space to the excrement collection room. Specifically, a net-like or slatted floor can be used as the floor.

  The excrement collection shutter 42 is provided between the living space and the excrement collecting air lock room (preferably below the floor), and the living space and the excrement collecting air lock room can be hermetically separated. It is what. In order to ensure airtightness, it is preferable that the shutter can be in close contact with the case and / or the excrement collection air lock room via a seal.

  The excrement collection door 43 is provided in the excrement collection air lock room so as to be openable and closable, thereby allowing excrement to be collected. It is preferable that the excrement collection door can be in close contact with the excrement collection air lock room via a seal in order to ensure airtightness.

When raising animals, the excrement collecting air lock system can be operated as follows.
(0) Open the shutter and close the door. Thereby, excrement can be collected in a closed system.

Further, when excrement is collected, the excrement collection air lock system can be operated as follows.
(1) Close the shutter.
(2) Measure the state of air in the air lock room.
(3) Open the door.
(4) Collect excrement in the excrement collector.
(5) Then, a new excrement collector is introduced into the air adjustment system by the reverse procedure.

  When the excrement collection air lock system collects excrement, it is possible to grasp the state of air in the air lock room sandwiched between the shutter and the door. As a result, it is possible to grasp the state of air entering and exiting the closed system when excrement is collected, and it is possible to correct errors occurring in metabolic data.

  The animal breeding apparatus according to the present invention comprises an exhaust pipe monitor 26 for monitoring the state of air passing through the exhaust pipe, and an air supply pipe monitor 27 for monitoring the state of air passing through the supply pipe. Furthermore, it is preferable to have. By these, the state of the air supplied to the case and the state of the air discharged from the case can be grasped, and the air metabolized by the animal can be calculated by comparing these. In addition, as described above, the consumable material replacement air lock room and the excrement collection air lock room monitor and the excrement collection air lock room monitor can be used to replace the consumable material and excrement collection. It is possible to grasp the state of the air that has entered and exited into the object recovery air lock room. As a result, it is possible to correct a data error that occurs slightly when exchanging consumables or excrement collection. Moreover, it is preferable that the animal breeding apparatus according to the present invention has a case monitor for monitoring the state of air in the living space of the case.

  The air condition that can be measured can be set as appropriate according to the purpose of the test. Similar to the adjustable air condition, the air temperature, humidity, total pressure, oxygen concentration, carbon dioxide concentration, And at least one selected from the group consisting of trace gas concentrations. By measuring these, as metabolic data, in addition to urine and fecal excretion, a wider range of animals such as respiratory quotient (ratio of oxygen consumption to carbon dioxide excretion), metabolic water vapor generation, metabolic fever, etc. It becomes possible to grasp the metabolic characteristics of

It is a block diagram showing typically the composition of the animal breeding device concerning the present invention. It is a typical perspective view of the animal breeding device concerning the present invention. It is a flowchart which shows typically the operating method of the moving means in the air lock system for consumables replacement | exchange of the animal breeding apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart which shows typically the operating method of the airlock system for consumables replacement | exchange of the animal breeding apparatus which concerns on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1: Animal rearing device, 10: Case, 11: Feeder, 12: Water feeder, 20: Air adjustment system, 21: Exhaust pipe, 22: Air supply pipe, 23: Air circulator, 24: Heat exchanger, 25: Consumable, 26: Monitor for exhaust pipe, 27: Monitor for air supply pipe, 30: Air lock system for replacement of consumable, 31: Air lock room for replacement of consumable, 32: Shutter for replacement of consumable, 33: For replacement of consumable Door: 34: moving means, 35: monitor for air lock room for consumable replacement, 40: air lock system for excrement collection, 41: air lock room for excrement collection, 42: shutter for excrement collection, 43: excretion Waste collection door, 44: floor, 45: monitor for air lock room for excrement collection, 46: excrement collection device

Claims (5)

A substantially airtight animal breeding device,
A case of providing animal living space;
An exhaust pipe for discharging air from the case;
An air adjustment system for adjusting the air discharged through the exhaust pipe;
An air supply pipe for supplying air adjusted by the air adjustment system to the case;
A consumable material replacement air lock system for replacing the consumable material of the air adjustment system,
A consumables replacement airlock room provided adjacent to the air conditioning system;
A consumable material replacement shutter that is openable and closable provided between the air adjustment system and the consumable material replacement air lock room;
A consumable material replacement door that can be opened and closed provided in the consumable material replacement air lock room;
A consumable material replacement airlock system comprising: a moving means for moving the consumable material between the air adjustment system and the airlock room when the shutter is opened.   The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the consumable material replacement airlock system further includes a consumable material replacement airlock room monitor for monitoring a state of air in the consumable material replacement airlock room. An excrement collecting air lock system for collecting excrement from animals,
An air lock room for excrement collection provided below the living space of the case;
An openable / closable excrement collection shutter provided between the living space and the excrement collection air lock room;
The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an excrement recovery air lock system having an openable / closable excrement recovery door provided in the excrement recovery air lock room.   4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the excrement recovery air lock system further includes an excrement recovery air lock room monitor for monitoring a state of air in the excrement recovery air lock room. A substantially airtight animal breeding device,
A case of providing animal living space;
An exhaust pipe for discharging air from the case;
An air adjustment system for adjusting the air discharged through the exhaust pipe;
An air supply pipe for supplying air adjusted by the air adjustment system to the case;
An excrement collecting air lock system for collecting excrement from animals,
An air lock room for excrement collection provided below the living space of the case;
An openable / closable excrement collection shutter provided between the living space and the excrement collection air lock room;
An excrement collecting air lock system comprising: an excretion collecting door that can be opened and closed provided in the excrement collecting air lock room.

Images