JP2010124711A - Device for catching airborne substance - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device for catching airborne substances, formed so as not to cause measurement error by volume change caused by the temperature of a gas by considering the temperature of the sucked gas of a sampling object, i.e. the volume change of the gas by the temperature. <P>SOLUTION: The device for catching airborne substances, usable for collecting a sample in at least one measurement selected from the measurement of airborne bacteria and the measurement of airborne fine particles includes a gas intake opened in the upper face and expanded in the horizontal direction, a fan for sucking the gas from the gas intake, and a gas outlet for exhausting the gas sucked from the gas intake, and further has a temperature-regulating mechanism for regulating the volumetric amount of the sucked gas by the temperature of the sucked gas. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an airborne substance collection device used for airborne microbe measurement or airborne particulate measurement, and is particularly portable, and is portable and capable of sampling air and other gases at an arbitrary place. It relates to the airborne substance collection device.

  In recent living environments, the airtightness of houses has increased due to the spread of sashes. As a result, although dust from outside has become difficult to enter, there is a concern that mold, mites, and house dust will increase in the indoor environment. Has been. In addition, since the incidence of allergic symptoms in residents has increased due to such mold, mites, and house dust, it is necessary to confirm the presence of the causative allergen.

  Therefore, conventionally, an apparatus for capturing and measuring such airborne microorganisms has also been proposed.

  For example, Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-161143) discloses a microorganism capturing apparatus that captures microorganisms floating in the air on the membrane filter by sucking air through a heat resistant membrane filter. And an ejector that sucks ambient air from the inducing channel using compressed air from the compressor, and a holder that is connected to the inducing channel of the ejector and supports the membrane filter. A capture device has been proposed. For the sampling gas suction amount in this microorganism capturing apparatus, in the column “0019”, “If the suction is performed at a constant flow rate under the control of the regulator 3, the suction amount (liter) may be proportional to the suction time. It has been confirmed experimentally, and it is only necessary to measure the suction time in order to obtain a desired suction amount. "

  Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-149064) discloses a nozzle plate having a plurality of nozzle holes, a nozzle holding member for holding the nozzle plate, and a medium located downstream of the nozzle plate. A portable airborne fungus sampler having a petri dish support part that supports a petri dish that performs and a fan that generates an air flow has been proposed, and in particular, a straight pipe part and a conical tapered part on the upstream side of the straight pipe part A portable airborne microbe sampler is disclosed in which nozzle holes having the above are arranged at intersections of a plurality of parallel lines that are equally spaced in two orthogonal vertical and horizontal directions.

Further, in Patent Document 3 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-304663), when a high static pressure fan is rotated by driving a motor, air flows from the holes in the nozzle plate and passes through the gap between the nozzle plate and the culture medium. A portable airborne sampler has been proposed, and the airflow that has passed through the culture medium region is configured to be exhausted to the outside from the discharge port after dust particles are removed through an exhaust filter. Yes.
JP 2008-161143 A JP 2001-149064 A JP 2000-304663 A

  When the airborne substance is a virus, a bacterium, or a microorganism, the particle size is 1 μm or less, and it is highly possible that these are suspended alone. Such microbial particles with a particle size of 1 μm or less need to be managed and thoroughly enforced in biological clean rooms, pharmaceutical-related facilities, HACCP-related facilities, public health, etc. It is desired to develop a handy type (portable) air sampler that can perform an air sample in a space and has high microorganism collection performance.

  Therefore, in the present invention, first of all, airborne substances that have portability that can be moved to any place and that have a high ability to collect microorganisms such as airborne bacteria and dust that exist in gas such as air. It is a first object to provide a collection device.

  In addition, as is the case with the microorganism capturing devices disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 3, the suction time and the flow rate of the nozzle for suction are taken into consideration when sucking the gas to be sampled in the past. However, the actual situation is that no consideration is given to temperature.

  Therefore, the present invention takes into consideration the temperature of the gas to be sampled, that is, the volume change of the gas due to the temperature, which is the object of sampling, and the airborne floating material collecting apparatus that prevents the measurement error due to the volume change caused by the gas temperature. It is a second task to provide

  Furthermore, as with the microorganism capturing devices disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 3, any sampler configured to collect airborne microorganisms can be used for the purpose of collecting airborne particulates. There wasn't. For this reason, when measuring each of the microorganisms and fine particles in the air, it was necessary to prepare two different types of samplers.

  Therefore, a third object of the present invention is to provide an airborne matter collecting apparatus that can be used for measuring airborne bacteria and airborne fine particles.

  Furthermore, the present invention collects microbes such as airborne microbes in the air and fine particles such as dust in pharmaceuticals, food manufacturing or hospitals, nursing homes, schools, etc., and acquires data necessary for each environmental hygiene management. Therefore, it is a fourth object to provide an airborne substance collection device capable of collecting airborne mold and allergen-causing substances.

  In order to solve at least one of the above problems, the present invention is an airborne substance collection device used for collecting a sample in measurement of airborne bacteria and / or airborne particulate measurement, A gas intake port that expands and opens in the horizontal direction upward, a fan that sucks gas from the gas intake port, and a gas discharge port that discharges the gas sucked from the gas intake port In addition, an airborne matter collecting apparatus including a temperature control mechanism that adjusts the volume of the sucked gas according to the temperature of the gas is provided.

  In such an airborne substance collection device, since the volume of the gas to be sucked is adjusted according to the temperature of the gas to be sucked, it is possible to accurately collect microorganisms and fine particles without depending on the environmental temperature. . That is, in the case of gas, if the pressure is constant, the volume increases by 1 / 273.15 each time the temperature rises by 1 ° C. (Charles' law). Therefore, the volume of the gas to be sucked is adjusted so that the volume change due to such a temperature difference is eliminated, and the gas at the temperature at the time of measurement can be sucked by converting into the amount of gas sucked at the reference temperature. Therefore, in this airborne substance collection apparatus, it is necessary to include a temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the gas to be sucked, and includes an arithmetic circuit that adjusts the amount of gas sucked based on the measurement result of the temperature sensor. There is a need.

  The suction of the gas can be performed by rotating a fan with a motor. In this case, the suction amount of the gas can be set by the number of rotations of the motor and time. Also, it is desirable that the amount of gas to be sucked can be selected from pre-programmed amounts depending on the degree of gas environment. For example, a selector for setting the gas suction amount can be provided, and the rotation speed, rotation time, rotation amount, and the like of the fan can be controlled by a program so that the selected suction amount is obtained.

  The adjustment of the gas suction amount by the temperature control mechanism can be performed by controlling at least one of the rotation speed and the operation time of the fan that sucks the gas.

  Furthermore, in the present invention, in order to solve at least one of the above-described problems, a petri dish that contains a culture medium in which a sucked gas flow collides, or a filter capable of capturing fine particles so as to horizontally traverse the gas intake port. An airborne matter collecting apparatus including a holding unit that detachably holds a filter member having a filter.

  According to such an airborne substance collection device, when collecting microorganisms such as airborne bacteria, a petri dish containing a culture medium is used, and when capturing fine particles, a filter capable of capturing the fine particles is used. The filter member which has can be used. Since these can be detachably held by the holding portion, the petri dish or the filter member may be properly used according to the use. As a result, an airborne matter collecting apparatus that can be used for collecting both microorganisms such as airborne bacteria and fine particles such as dust is realized.

  In particular, when collecting microorganisms, a porous member having fine holes (nozzles) is arranged above the petri dish, and the gas flow that has passed through the holes is uniformly collided with the medium (medium in the petri dish). The trapped microorganisms in the gas are trapped in the medium. Therefore, when collecting microorganisms such as airborne bacteria, the porous member is necessary. In addition, fine particles such as dust can be collected through a filter together with gas. In addition, this filter can use what is marketed normally for the purpose of collecting airborne substances. In particular, since this filter is generally formed using a fabric, an adapter for reinforcing the edge portion of the filter and expanding and holding the filter and fixing the filter to the holding portion described above. It is desirable to use a frame or the like.

  Moreover, in the airborne substance collection apparatus of this invention, it is also considered to use simultaneously the filter member and the petri dish provided with the culture medium. That is, the filter member captures fine particles in the gas, and the gas that has passed through the filter member passes through the porous member and collides with the culture medium in the petri dish, and is configured to capture suspended microorganisms in the culture medium. Can do. When formed in this way, a petri dish provided with a filter member, a porous member, and a culture medium is arranged in the order of the gas flow direction. In addition, if formed in this way, it becomes possible to simultaneously sample the contamination status due to fine particles such as dust in a gas such as air and the contamination status due to microorganisms.

  Furthermore, in the airborne matter collecting apparatus according to the present invention, it is preferable that the gas intake port is opened vertically upward and the gas discharge port is opened in a horizontal direction. By opening the gas discharge port in the horizontal direction, the sucked gas can be discharged in the radial direction. This is because, for example, when the airborne substance collection device is directly mounted on a table or floor, there is no risk of dust floating on the desk or floor, and the airborne substance (that is, Microorganisms and suspended particulates) can be collected. In this regard, if the sucked gas is discharged downward in the vertical direction, dust on the desk or the floor may be caused to rise, and as a result, it is difficult to accurately collect airborne suspended matter. Is also possible.

  The gas in the present invention means not only air but also other gases, and in order to collect fine particles such as microorganisms and dust in the environment where the gas exists. Can be used.

  According to the airborne substance collection apparatus according to the present invention, the airborne structure has a form that can be moved to an arbitrary place, and has a high function of collecting microorganisms and dust that exist in a gas such as air. A float collection device is provided.

  Moreover, since the airborne substance collection apparatus according to the present invention includes a temperature control mechanism that adjusts the volume of the gas to be sucked according to the temperature of the gas to be sucked, the temperature of the gas to be sucked that is a sampling target That is, an airborne substance collecting device is provided in which a change in gas volume due to temperature is taken into consideration, and a measurement error due to volume change caused by the gas temperature is prevented.

  In addition, the airborne substance collecting apparatus according to the present invention is a filter having a petri dish that contains a culture medium in which a sucked gas flow collides, or a filter capable of capturing fine particles so as to horizontally traverse the gas intake port. By providing a holding part for detachably holding the member, relatively large fine particles (several μm or more) such as dust can be captured by a filter or the like, while microbial particles having a particle size of 1 μm or less. As for, suspended microorganisms can be trapped in the medium by colliding the air flow with a medium such as agar. This provides an airborne substance collection device that can be used for measurement of airborne bacteria and airborne fine particles.

  Hereinafter, one specific embodiment of the airborne matter collecting apparatus 50 according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view in the vertical direction showing an example in which the airborne matter collection apparatus 50 according to the present embodiment is used for airborne bacteria measurement, that is, configured to collect microorganisms. It is a principal part top view of the airborne substance collection apparatus 50 which concerns on this Embodiment, FIG. 3 is a principal part exploded view which shows the state which arrange | positions a petri dish. FIG. 4 is a schematic vertical sectional view of an essential part showing an example in which the airborne matter collecting apparatus 50 according to the present embodiment is configured to collect fine particles for use in airborne fine particle measurement. 5 is an essential part exploded view showing a state in which the filter member is arranged. 6 and 7 are flowcharts showing a procedure for correcting the air suction amount or the suction time depending on the temperature in the airborne substance collection device 50 in the present embodiment.

  First, with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, an airborne matter collecting apparatus 50 according to the present embodiment and an embodiment in the case of using it to capture airborne microorganisms will be described. In FIG. 1, this airborne substance collection device 50 holds and fixes a battery 10 as a power source in a battery frame 15 which is a lower casing, and further fixes the battery 10 to the battery 10. A charging plug 13 for charging is provided. Since the power source is a battery system, gas can be sampled at any place where there is no outlet, regardless of the place of measurement. It can also be used repeatedly by charging.

  On the side surface of the battery frame 15, there is provided a control panel 12 that performs settings for controlling the operation of the airborne suspended matter collecting device 50 and controls the operation of the airborne suspended matter collecting device 50. In the control panel 12, adjustment (temperature correction) of an air suction amount or suction time according to a temperature described later can be performed.

  The upper part of the battery frame 15 is formed in a tapered shape, and the outer side is formed in a funnel shape so as to be inclined outward. Further, a motor 7 that is operated by being supplied with electric power from the battery 10 is fixed to the tip of the tapered battery frame 15. A fan 5 for sucking air is attached to the rotating shaft of the motor 7, and the air flow generated by the rotation of the fan 5 is outside the tapered portion above the battery frame 15. It is guided by the funnel-shaped inclined surface and discharged from the air exhaust port 16 formed by the exhaust frame 9 in the horizontal direction.

  The exhaust frame 9 is fixed above the battery frame 15, and the motor frame 6 is fixed above the exhaust frame 9. The motor frame 6 secures a rotation space of the fan 5 rotated by the motor 7 and forms an air circulation space by the rotation of the fan 5.

  A medium receiver 4 is provided above the motor frame 6. As shown in FIG. 2, the culture medium receiver 4 includes a support frame portion 30 that crosses in a horizontal shape in the horizontal direction and a claw portion 31 that protrudes from the periphery of the support frame portion 30. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, a petri dish 3 on which a medium is provided is further placed on the support frame part 30, and the claw part 31 holds the petri dish 3.

  A porous member 2 is provided above the culture medium receiver 4. The porous member 2 includes a surface 32 in which a plurality of through holes are formed in a plan view. And the surface 32 in which the through-hole in the said porous member is formed is provided close to the culture medium in the said petri dish. Further, the porous member 2 is provided with the lid member 1 so as to close the surface 32 on which the through hole is formed. The lid member 1 is removed during use.

  In the airborne matter collecting apparatus 50 configured as described above, when the fan 5 is rotated by the operation of the motor 7, air is sucked in the motor frame 6. By this air suction, the air to be sampled passes through the through hole of the porous member 2 and collides with the culture medium in the petri dish 3. When the air flow collides with the culture medium, microorganisms such as airborne bacteria in the air are captured by the culture medium. On the other hand, the sucked air passes between the side surface of the petri dish 3 and the support frame portion 30 and reaches the fan 5 rotating by the motor 7. Therefore, the support frame part 30 functions also as what forms the excitement for distribute | circulating the sucked air between the petri dish 3 and the gas intake port 14.

  The airflow that has reached the fan 5 is guided by the upper funnel-shaped inclined surface of the battery frame 15 and is discharged from the exhaust frame 9 in the horizontal direction.

  Next, with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5, an embodiment in which the airborne matter collecting apparatus 50 according to the present embodiment is used for airborne particulate measurement, that is, configured to collect particulates will be described. To do.

  The basic structure of the airborne substance collection device 50 shown in FIG. 4 is substantially the same as that of the airborne substance collection device shown in FIG. 1, but is not a petri dish 3 having a medium on the medium receiver 4. The difference is that the filter member 20 that holds the filter F in an expanded state is disposed and the filter cover 18 is disposed instead of the porous member 2.

  The filter member 20 holds the peripheral portion of the filter F and fixes the filter F in a widened state. The filter member 20 is held by a claw portion 31 that protrudes from the vicinity of the peripheral edge of the culture medium receiver 4. The filter cover 18 is formed in a substantially ring shape on the plane, and the inner peripheral surface thereof is provided in close contact with the peripheral portion of the filter member so that all the air sucked by the fan 5 passes through the filter F. It is done. In addition, a packing 19 can be provided between the filter cover 18 and the filter member 20 in order to improve airtightness.

  In the airborne matter collecting apparatus 50 configured as described above, when the fan 5 is rotated by the operation of the motor 7, the air to be sampled is sucked toward the filter surface of the filter member 20. This air flow passes through the filter, and dust and the like in the air are captured by the filter. The air flow that has passed through the filter F passes through the fan, is guided to the inclined surface of the battery frame 15 as described above, and is discharged from the exhaust frame 9 in the horizontal direction.

  In particular, with reference to FIG. 4, the configuration of the control panel 12 in the airborne matter collecting apparatus 50 according to this embodiment is specifically shown. First, as the control items of the airborne substance collection device 50, as shown on the operation panel 21 of the control panel 12, a “POWER” button for turning on / off the power and an operation start time (timer) are set. "START" button to select, "MODE" button to select two modes of medium or filter, and "CAPA" button to select the amount of air to be sucked, these items can be set arbitrarily It is possible. Particularly in this embodiment, the POWER LED is turned on by pressing the “POWER” button, and Mode 1 or Mode 2 can be selected by pressing the “MODE” button. For example, when the “MODE” button is pressed once, the BIO (meaning microorganisms such as airborne bacteria) LED is lit, and when pressed twice, the DUST (meaning airborne particulates such as dust) LED is lit. can do. Further, by pressing the “VOLUME” button, it is possible to select an intake air amount suitable for the environment. For example, when the “VOLUME” button is pressed once, 500 L, when pressed twice, 200 L, when pressed three times, 100 L, when pressed four times, 50 L LED is lit, and the amount of air indicated by this lighting is sucked. can do. If the TOTAL BOLUME to be measured is selected, the temperature is automatically corrected by a process as will be described later, and automatically stopped when the set intake air amount is reached. Also, use the “START” button to select the time to start. Press the “START” button once, after 1 minute, 2 times, 10 minutes, 3 times, 20 minutes, 4 times, 30 minutes, 5 times, 60 minutes LED lights, Suction is started after the time indicated by the lit value has elapsed. Therefore, a desired start time can be easily set by operating this button. When the timer is set by pressing the “START” button, the LED blinks until the set time is reached, and the LED is turned on and automatically started when the set time is reached. In addition, when it is desired to stop the operation due to a low battery level, the STOP button can be configured to be pressed for a long time. In this case, all set items are canceled and the suction process is stopped. Since the operation panel 21 of the control panel 12 has such a simple selection button and the selected item is displayed by an LED, a complicated operation is not necessary and the operation can be easily performed.

  The operation start time is set on the operation panel 21 because an air flow is generated when an operator stays or moves in a room where sampling is performed, and accurate sampling becomes difficult. This is to allow the person to leave the room and operate when the air flow is calm.

  Further, the control panel 12 is provided with a check lamp indicating the remaining amount of the battery. When the remaining amount is low, the control panel 12 is lit in red or the like, so that the user can be alerted. In addition, even if the battery runs out and stops in the middle of the collection work, it is possible to confirm that the collection work has not been performed cleanly by checking that the check lamp is lit red when the work is completed. It can be done.

  Next, with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the correction processing procedure of the air suction amount or the suction time depending on the temperature in the airborne substance collection device 50 in the present embodiment will be described.

  First, as a procedure for performing such temperature correction, as shown in FIG. 6, it is possible to detect and correct the temperature of air sucked after the operation is started. That is, when using the airborne substance collection device 50, a suction time or a suction amount is set (S10), and when it is time to start suction, air suction is started (S11). When the air is sucked, the temperature of the sucked air is detected (S12), and the result is acquired by a program in the control panel (S13). Then, a difference between the acquired temperature and a reference temperature (for example, 25 ° C.) is calculated, and a correction value for the air suction time or the air suction amount is calculated from the temperature difference (S14). Based on the correction value, the suction time or suction amount set at the start of the work is rewritten or corrected (S15), and the suction is ended by operating according to the content (S16).

  As a procedure for performing such temperature correction, as shown in FIG. 7, when setting the air suction time or amount at the start of operation, the temperature of the air to be sucked is detected and temperature correction is performed. Suction can be started based on the value of. That is, the temperature sensor detects the temperature of the air to be sucked (S21) before and after the setting of the air suction time or the suction amount at the start of operation (S20). This result is passed to the program in the control panel (S22), the difference between the measured temperature and the reference temperature (for example, 25 ° C.) is calculated, and the air suction time or the air suction amount is corrected from this temperature difference. A value is calculated (S23). Then, based on this correction value, the set suction time or suction amount is rewritten or corrected (S24), and suction is started according to the contents (S25), and the suction time or suction amount reaches as rewritten or corrected. At this stage, the air suction is finished (S25).

  By configuring as described above, even if the air temperature to be sampled is different, the airborne matter collection device 50 can correct the air suction amount by itself, so the measurement result is used as it is. can do.

  In addition, the culture medium to which the microorganisms are adsorbed is cultured by the same method as disclosed in other prior literatures, and airborne bacteria are measured by the number of colonies. Specifically, the sampled medium (medium in the petri dish) is cultured, the number of colonies is counted, and the number of bacteria per 1 m3 of air is calculated. On the other hand, fine particles collected by the filter F can be measured with airborne fine particles by checking with a microscope.

  In addition, the airborne matter collecting apparatus 50 according to this embodiment can be made lightweight by forming each frame using an ABS resin or other plastics, and the workability can be improved. Furthermore, it is also desirable to provide a handle for improving portability as shown in FIG. Further, although not shown, it is also desirable that a nut for attaching a tripod is provided on the lower surface of the airborne substance collecting device 50 so that the tripod can be attached when collecting at a place higher than the floor surface.

  The airborne substance trap according to the present invention is a place where cleanliness is required, such as a bioclean room, a food industry production line, or a place where attention management of microbial contamination is required such as a hospital. It can be used inside those spaces for management and investigation.

  In particular, since the airborne matter collecting apparatus according to the present invention can collect not only airborne microorganisms but also airborne particulates (dust etc.), for example, the state of air pollution by exhaust gas is investigated. Can also be used for purposes.

  Furthermore, the airborne substance trapping device according to the present invention is used not only for air but also for management and investigation of pollution states in various gas atmospheres other than air, such as fuel gas such as methane gas and propane gas, or nitrogen. You can also

Vertical cross-sectional schematic diagram showing an example configured to collect microorganisms for use in airborne bacteria measurement Top view of main parts of airborne floating device Main part exploded view showing the state of arranging the petri dish Schematic diagram of the main part vertical section showing an example configured to collect particulates for use in airborne particulate measurement Main part exploded view showing a state in which the filter member is arranged Flow chart showing correction procedure of air suction amount or suction time depending on temperature in airborne substance collection device Flow chart showing correction procedure of air suction amount or suction time depending on temperature in airborne substance collection device

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Lid member 2 Porous member 3 Petri dish 5 Fan 6 Motor frame 7 Motor 9 Exhaust frame 10 Battery 11 Battery case 12 Control panel 13 Charge plug 14 Gas intake 15 Battery frame 16 Air exhaust 18 Filter cover 19 Packing 20 Filter member 21 Operation panel 30 Support frame part 31 Claw part 50 Airborne substance collection device

Claims (5)

An air suspension collection device used for collecting a sample in measurement of airborne bacteria and / or airborne particulate measurement,
A gas intake port that expands and opens in the horizontal direction upward, a fan that sucks gas from the gas intake port, and a gas discharge port that discharges the gas sucked from the gas intake port And
Furthermore, the air floating substance collection apparatus characterized by including the temperature control mechanism which adjusts the volume amount of the gas to attract | suck with the temperature of the said gas.   2. The airborne matter collecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the temperature control mechanism detects a temperature of a gas to be sucked and controls at least one of a rotation speed and an operation time of a fan that sucks the gas.   Furthermore, a holding section for detachably holding a petri dish for storing a culture medium in which a sucked gas flow collides or a filter member having a filter capable of capturing fine particles is provided so as to horizontally traverse the gas intake port. The airborne matter collecting apparatus according to claim 1. An air suspension collection device used for collecting a sample in measurement of airborne bacteria and / or airborne particulate measurement,
A gas intake port that expands and opens in the horizontal direction upward, a fan that sucks gas from the gas intake port, and a gas discharge port that discharges gas sucked from the gas intake port And
Furthermore, a holding part is formed that detachably holds a petri dish that contains a culture medium in which the sucked gas flow collides, or a filter member having a filter capable of capturing fine particles so as to cross the gas intake port horizontally. An airborne floating material collecting device, characterized in that   The air floating substance collection device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the gas intake port is opened vertically upward, and the gas discharge port is opened in a horizontal direction.