JP2009136233A - Culture apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable suppression of the capacity of an incubator. <P>SOLUTION: An incubator part 11 houses culture vessels each containing a sample and cultures the sample under a cell culture environment suitable for cell culture. An articulated robot 21 carries the culture vessel through the incubator part 11. A robot main body part 21a driving a robot arm part 21b among mechanisms composing the articulated robot 21 is installed outside the incubator part 11. The robot arm part 21b carrying the culture vessel is inserted from the opening 11d of the side wall 11b of the incubator part 11 into the inner space 11a and installed so as to be separated from the robot main body part 21a by the side wall 11b. The invention is applicable to a culture observation device where cells are cultured in an incubator and observed with a microscope. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a culture apparatus, and more particularly, to a culture apparatus capable of suppressing the volume of an incubator.

  In recent years, apparatuses for culturing cells in an incubator and observing them with a microscope are becoming widespread.

  In such an apparatus, there is a problem in that the apparatus itself becomes large when performing medium exchange or passage, etc., and that each technique becomes specialized over each to be combined into one. is there. Therefore, a method is generally adopted in which a transport robot accesses each device developed for each process and transports a culture vessel containing a sample.

For example, Patent Literature 1 is known as such a culture apparatus. In this culture apparatus, the transfer robot provided inside can access all trays in the culture chamber, and accesses and transports these trays.
JP 2005-287466 A

  However, when the method of storing the entire transport robot in the incubator as in the prior art including Patent Document 1 described above, the problem of heat generation by the drive source (motor, etc.) of the transport robot and the capacity of the incubator increase. There was a problem that.

  When the heat generated by the drive source of the transfer robot and the capacity of the incubator increase, the thermal efficiency of the internal space decreases, and it becomes difficult to maintain the environmental performance of the transfer robot in the high-temperature and high-humidity internal space.

  This invention is made | formed in view of such a condition, and enables it to suppress the capacity | capacitance of an incubator.

  The culture apparatus of the present invention stores therein a culture container in which a sample is placed, and drives a culture means for culturing the sample under a predetermined environmental condition, a transport unit that transports the culture container, and the transport unit A drive unit, and a transfer unit configured to transfer the culture vessel, wherein the drive unit is installed outside the culture unit, and the transfer unit is connected to the culture unit through an opening on a side wall of the culture unit. It is passed through the interior and is separated from the driving unit by the side wall.

  According to the present invention, the capacity of the incubator can be suppressed.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a front view showing an overall configuration of a culture observation apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

  In the example of FIG. 1, the culture observation apparatus 1 having solution handling includes an incubator unit 11 and a gantry unit 12 disposed below the incubator unit 11. In FIG. 1, the incubator unit 11 is expressed so that the entire articulated robot 21 can be confirmed for convenience of explanation. However, as is apparent by referring to other drawings to be described later, the incubator unit 11 is actually the front. Is sealed with a door, and is controlled so that an environment suitable for culturing cells (hereinafter referred to as a cell culture environment) is maintained in the internal space.

  For example, in the incubator 11, a temperature control mechanism including a temperature control device using a Peltier element, a humidity control mechanism including a spray device for ejecting mist, and a gas introduction unit connected to an external carbon dioxide cylinder A gas control mechanism including an environmental sensor and the like (not shown) for detecting a cell culture environment in the internal space are provided. Moreover, the inside of the incubator 11 is covered with a heat insulating material. Thereby, the internal space 11a of the incubator unit 11 is sealed in order to maintain a cell culture environment, and is maintained at a constant temperature by circulating air, for example, a temperature of 37 ° C., a humidity of 90%, The carbon dioxide concentration is maintained at 5%.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a control box 13 for controlling each part of the culture observation apparatus 1, a personal computer 14, and the like are accommodated in the gantry 12 on which the incubator 11 is placed.

  A robot main body 21a in which a drive unit of the articulated robot 21 is built is fixed to the support 11c extending from the side wall 11b of the incubator unit 11. The robot main body 21a drives the robot arm 21b. The articulated robot 21 performs various operations based on the control of the control box 13 in accordance with, for example, an operation on an input unit (not shown) by the user.

  Here, a detailed configuration of the articulated robot 21 will be described with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 2, in the articulated robot 21, the robot body 21a has motors M1 to M4, and each of these motors drives the robot arm via the timing belts B1 to B4. Each joint of the part 21b is bent. That is, in the robot arm portion 21b, the joint portion J1 is rotated in the vertical direction by driving the timing belt B1 using the motor M1 as a drive source. Similarly, each of the joint portions J2 to J4 is individually rotated in the vertical or horizontal direction by driving the timing belts B2 to B4 using the motors M2 to M4 as driving sources. As a result, the robot body 21a drives the robot arm 21b to transport the culture container containing the cells and the like stored in the internal space 11a of the incubator 11.

  Such a culture container is placed inside the incubator unit 11 in a state as shown in FIG. 3, for example. FIG. 3 shows a state of the internal space 11a in a state where the door of the incubator unit 11 is opened. In FIG. 3, the robot arm 21 b of the articulated robot 21 is arranged behind the stockers 41 a and 41 b and the carry 42 as is apparent from FIGS. 4 to 6 described later.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the stockers 41a and 41b accommodate one or more culture vessels 51 together with the holders 52 (in the example of FIG. 3, both the six holders 52 are accommodated). In addition, a plurality of culture vessels 51 together with the holders 52 are accommodated in a carry 42 that serves as a case for accommodating and carrying a plurality of holders 52 disposed between the stockers 41a and 41b (FIG. 3). In this example, three holders 52 are accommodated).

  Thus, in the present embodiment, each stocker corresponding to each holder 52, such as the stockers 41a and 41b mounted on the holder receiving bases 43a and 43b provided in the internal space 11a of the incubator unit 11, is provided. A step may be configured, or a plurality of holders 52 may be collectively stored like a carry 42 mounted on a holder receiving base 43c.

  That is, in the internal space 11a of the incubator unit 11, the articulated robot 21 supports and transports the holder 52 stored in the stocker 41a and the like, and puts the holder 52 in and out of the stocker 41a and the like. Note that when the articulated robot 21 supports the holder 52, the collar portion of the holder 52 is placed on the robot arm portion 21 b and transported. At this time, it is preferable to attach a member (for example, rubber) having a high frictional resistance to the contact surface between the robot arm 21 b and the holder 52.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the incubator 11 is provided with an opening 11 d having a predetermined size, and the robot arm 21 b is disposed in the internal space 11 a of the incubator 11 through the opening 11 d. Further, in the opening 11d, the elastic packing 11e absorbs manufacturing errors and mounting errors of the articulated robot 21 and the incubator unit 11. The elastic packing 11e is preferably one that can be expanded and contracted vertically and horizontally with respect to the side wall 11b, so that the humidity of the internal space 11a of the incubator portion 11 does not flow out. In other words, in order to maintain the cell culture environment of the internal space 11a, the robot arm 21b is covered with an elastic body such as the elastic packing 11e in the opening 11d.

  With this configuration, the articulated robot 21 is divided into a robot main body 21a and a robot arm 21b with the elastic packing 11e as a boundary with respect to the side wall 11b of the incubator unit 11. As a result, only the robot arm portion 21b of the mechanism constituting the articulated robot 21 operates in the cell culture environment of the internal space 11a of the incubator portion 11, and the robot main body portion 21a is external to the incubator portion 11. Will be installed.

  Note that the robot arm 21b can improve environmental performance by improving the sealing degree of the joints by using, for example, an O-ring. In the articulated robot 21, the electrical system is concentrated in the robot body 21 a installed outside the incubator 11, so that it is not affected by the cell culture environment such as humidity.

  By the way, the observation window 31 c spatially connected to the internal space 11 a of the incubator unit 11 is a space for the articulated robot 21 to carry the holder 52 when observing the sample by the microscope unit 31. That is, the microscope unit 31 observes the sample in the culture vessel 51 in a state where the holder 52 is supported by the robot arm portion 21 b of the articulated robot 21. Since this space is also maintained at a constant temperature according to the culture environment of the sample, the observation can be performed without damaging the sample during the culture. The observation window 31c is attached to the opening on the side wall of the incubator 11 and sealed with packing.

  The microscope unit 31 is roughly composed of an illumination system 31a and an observation system 31b. In the illumination system 31a, light from a light source such as an LED (Light Emitting Diode) enters the window 32 of the observation window 31c after passing through a rectangular diaphragm, a phase ring, a condenser lens, and the like. And the light which passed the window part 32 injects as illumination light in the sample in the culture container 51 of the holder 52 conveyed to the space in the observation window 31c. And the sample illuminated with the light from the illumination system 31a generates light according to its culture state. The light generated in the transmission direction from the sample is guided to the observation system 31b after passing through the window 33 of the observation window 31c.

  In the observation system 31b, the light generated in the transmission direction from the sample enters the CCD camera after passing through the objective lens, the intermediate zoom lens, the fluorescent illumination unit, the built-in lens of the CCD (Charge Coupled Device) camera, and the like. At this time, an image of the sample by the imaging optical system is formed on the imaging surface of the CCD camera. And the image imaged with this CCD camera is displayed on a monitor apparatus (not shown) etc., for example.

  The culture observation apparatus 1 is configured as described above.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 4 thru | or FIG. 6, operation | movement of the robot arm part 21b of the articulated robot 21 in the internal space 11a of the incubator part 11 is demonstrated.

  4 to 6 are schematic diagrams (top views) when the culture observation apparatus 1 is viewed from above for easy understanding of the operation state of the robot arm unit 21b. Note that an arm for holding the holder 52 is attached to the tip of the robot arm portion 21b as necessary.

  First, with reference to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the operation of the robot arm unit 21b when the holder 52 housed in the stocker 41a or the like is transported so that it can be observed by the microscope unit 31 will be described.

  When the sample in culture is observed using the microscope unit 31, the robot arm unit 21b takes out the holder 52 in the carry 42 as shown in FIG. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 5, the robot arm unit 21 b conveys the taken-out carry 42 to the space in the observation window 31 c while supporting the holder 52 of the carry 42.

  Thus, the holder 52 is conveyed into the observation window 31 c by the robot arm 21 b, and each part of the sample in the culture vessel 51 on the holder 52 is sequentially positioned on the optical axis of the microscope unit 31. Therefore, while maintaining a stable culture environment, each part of the sample can be observed based on the image output from the CCD camera to, for example, a monitor device, and the culture state of the sample can be confirmed.

  As described above, in the case of observing a sample in culture using the microscope unit 31, the robot arm 21b among the mechanisms constituting the articulated robot 21 performs an operation of transporting the holder 52, and the robot body. Since the unit 21a is installed outside the incubator unit 11, the proportion of the articulated robot 21 in the incubator unit 11 can be reduced, and the capacity of the incubator unit 11 can be suppressed. In addition, since the robot body 21a that houses the electrical system is outside the incubator unit 11, the electrical system of the articulated robot 21 is cut off from the cell culture environment of the internal space 11a. Since damage (for example, shortening the life) of the robot 21 due to moisture can be avoided, it is possible to prevent failure due to the influence of the environment. Further, the inside of the incubator unit 11 can be easily controlled without being affected by the heat generated by the motor of the robot body 21a. In addition, maintenance such as maintenance and inspection of the robot body 21a is facilitated.

  Next, referring to FIG. 4 and FIG. 6, the holder 52 housed in the stocker 41a or the like is placed in another device (not shown) such as a medium exchange or subculture device or a stocker for storing the culture vessel 51. The operation of the robot arm 21b when accessing and carrying will be described.

  When accessing such other devices, for example, a laboratory automation opening 11f (hereinafter simply referred to as opening 11f) is used as shown in FIG. For example, an automatic door can be used as the opening 11f, but pressure is applied to the rubber packing or the like so that the humidity of the internal space 11a of the incubator 11 does not leak (so that the cell culture environment is maintained). As an example, the gate valve 17 is used in the examples of FIGS. That is, the opening portion 11f is used when accessing with another device such as medium exchange or passage.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the robot arm unit 21 b takes out the carry 42 and, as shown in FIG. 6, is installed in the back through the opening 11 f, for example, another apparatus for performing medium exchange, passage, etc. Transport to.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the incubator 11 is provided with a plurality of openings of the same size on the three side walls other than the front outer door 15. As a result, for example, medium exchange and passage function considering lab automation, when storing a large amount of culture vessels, etc., freedom in the direction when accessing the culture observation apparatus 1 with these other apparatuses It is easy to change inline.

  In addition, since the culture vessel 51 is carried out of the incubator 11 to access other devices through the opening 11f, the cells are not exposed to the outside of the cell culture environment at a temperature of 37 ° C. It is possible to suppress the effects on the environment (stimulation due to environmental changes).

  As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the outer door 15 in front of the incubator 11 is provided with an outer small door 15a for carrying in, such as a holder 52 and a carry 42. The outer door 15 itself is opened for the purpose of cleaning the inside of the apparatus, exchanging containers, maintenance, and the like.

  Moreover, between the incubator part 11 and the outer door 15, and between the outer door 15 and the outer small door 15a, the heat-insulating packings 15b and 15c are attached, respectively. When the outer door 15 is opened, a glass door 16 is provided inside thereof, and a rubber packing 16b for sealing is attached to the outer periphery of the door. Further, a small glass door 16a is attached to the glass door 16 so as to be openable and closable, and is sealed with a packing 16c so as not to change the temperature in the apparatus as much as possible. As a result, the culture vessel 51 containing the culture solution is placed on the holder 52 and placed on one of the holder holders 43a to 43c via the outer door 15 and the outer small door 15a.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the culture container 51 is transferred between the processes in the internal space 11a of the incubator unit 11 without taking the culture container 51 out of the cell culture environment between the processes. In order to reduce the space of the incubator 11, the robot body 21 a is taken out of the incubator 11 among the mechanisms constituting the articulated robot 21.

  Thereby, the capacity of the incubator unit 11 can be suppressed. Further, since the capacity of the incubator unit 11 is reduced, the thermal efficiency of the internal space 11a is improved and the consumption of CO2 can be reduced. Further, the maintenance efficiency can be improved by taking out the robot body 21a from the incubator 11.

  In the present embodiment, the microscope unit 31 is installed outside the incubator unit 11, but the present invention is not limited thereto, and for example, the microscope unit 31 may be installed inside the incubator unit 11. However, in that case, it is preferable to install the microscope unit 31 in the incubator unit 11 in a state where the microscope unit 31 is housed in a hermetically sealed casing to block the adverse effects on each optical component due to the surrounding environment (cell culture environment). . In this case, the observation window 31c is unnecessary.

  Moreover, in this Embodiment, when supporting the holder 52 in the robot arm part 21b, although demonstrated by the example which mounts the collar part of the holder 52 in the robot arm part 21b, it is not restricted to this, For example, The holder 52 may be supported by sandwiching it from the side, or may be a system in which the holder 52 is completely fixed and held using a magnet, an air chuck or the like.

  The embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

It is a front view which shows the whole structure of the culture observation apparatus to which this invention is applied. It is a figure which shows the detailed structure of an articulated robot. It is a figure which shows the mode of internal space in the state which opened the door of the incubator part. It is a top view of a culture observation apparatus. It is a top view of a culture observation apparatus. It is a top view of a culture observation apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Culture observation apparatus, 11 Incubator part, 11a Internal space, 11b Side wall, 11c Support stand, 11d Opening part, 11e Elastic packing, 11f Opening part, 12 Mount part, 13 Control box, 14 Personal computer, 15 Outer door, 15a Outside Small door, 15b and 15c packing, 16 Glass door, 16a Glass small door, 16b and 16c packing, 17 Gate valve, 21 Articulated robot, 21a Robot main body, 21b Robot arm, 31 Microscope unit, 31a Illumination system, 31b Observation system, 31c observation window, 41a and 41b stocker, 42 carry, 43a to 43c holder holder, 51 culture vessel, 52 holder, M1 to M4 motor, B1 to B4 Timing belt, J1 or J4 joints

Claims (7)

A culture means for storing the culture container containing the sample therein and culturing the sample under a predetermined environmental condition;
A transport unit that transports the culture vessel and a drive unit that drives the transport unit, and includes a transport unit that transports the culture vessel,
The drive unit is installed outside the culture means,
The culture device is characterized in that the transport section is passed through the inside of the culture means from the opening on the side wall of the culture means, and is separated from the drive section by the side wall. Further comprising observation means for observing the sample placed in the culture vessel via an observation optical system;
The transport means transports the culture container from a storage section that stores the culture container, and causes the observation means to observe the sample while supporting the transported culture container. Item 4. The culture apparatus according to Item 1. The culture apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the opening is provided on each of the back wall and the left and right walls with respect to the door of the culture means. The culture apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the openings provided in each wall are all uniform in size. The culture apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the transport unit is passed through the culture means from any one of the openings provided on each wall. The culture apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the opening covers the transport unit with an elastic body. The culture apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the drive unit stores therein all electrical systems necessary for driving the transfer unit in the transfer unit.

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