JP2015015904A - Anaerobic culture apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To detect hydrogen leakage from an anaerobic chamber further securely.SOLUTION: An anaerobic culture apparatus 100 comprises: an anaerobic chamber 10 which is constituted of a flexible member and partitions an internal space IS from an outside space OS; an environmental control part 30 which supplies hydrogen to the internal space IS such that concentration of oxygen in the internal space IS is reduced by promoting reaction between hydrogen and oxygen by a catalyst 20 placed in the internal space IS; a detection part 70 which detects hydrogen leakage from the internal space IS to the outside space OS on the basis of a deformation of the anaerobic chamber 10 caused by pressure reduction of the internal space IS; and an alarm part 80 which issues an alarm correspondingly to the detection of hydrogen leakage by the detection part 70.

Description

  The present invention relates to an anaerobic culture apparatus.

  There is an anaerobic culture apparatus for culturing microorganisms in an anaerobic environment. One anaerobic culture apparatus includes an anaerobic chamber that partitions an internal space from an external space, and a unit that supplies hydrogen to the internal space. A catalyst is disposed in the internal space, and this catalyst promotes the reaction between hydrogen and oxygen, so that the concentration of oxygen in the internal space decreases.

JP 2006-217806 A JP 2006-149232 A

  In the anaerobic culture apparatus as described above, it is dangerous if the anaerobic chamber is damaged and hydrogen continues to leak from the internal space to the external space. Therefore, it is conceivable that a hydrogen sensor is arranged in a room where an anaerobic culture apparatus is arranged to detect hydrogen. However, for example, if there is an air flow in the room, it is difficult to reliably detect hydrogen leakage from the anaerobic chamber.

  An object of the present invention is to more reliably detect hydrogen leakage from an anaerobic chamber.

  The present invention relates to an anaerobic culture apparatus, wherein the anaerobic culture apparatus is constituted by a flexible member and partitions an internal space from an external space, and a catalyst disposed in the internal space reacts with hydrogen and oxygen. The environmental control unit for supplying hydrogen to the internal space and the leakage of hydrogen from the internal space to the external space to reduce the pressure of the internal space. A detection unit that detects based on deformation of the anaerobic chamber due to a decrease, and an alarm unit that issues an alarm in response to detection of hydrogen leakage by the detection unit.

  According to the present invention, leakage of hydrogen from the anaerobic chamber is more reliably detected.

The figure which shows typically the structure of the anaerobic culture apparatus of one embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows typically the state in which hydrogen is leaking in the anaerobic culture apparatus of one embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described through an anaerobic culture apparatus 100 of an exemplary embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  The anaerobic culture apparatus 100 includes an anaerobic chamber 10, an environment control unit 30, a detection unit 70, and an alarm unit 80. The anaerobic chamber 10 is configured by a flexible member, and partitions the internal space IS from the external space OS. The flexible member can be formed of, for example, vinyl chloride. A catalyst 20 for accelerating the reaction between hydrogen and oxygen is disposed in the internal space IS. The catalyst 20 can be placed on, for example, a shelf 60 disposed in the internal space IS.

  The environment control unit 30 supplies hydrogen to the internal space IS such that the catalyst 20 disposed in the internal space IS promotes the reaction between hydrogen and oxygen, so that the oxygen concentration in the internal space IS decreases. In one example, the environment control unit 30 first replaces the air in the internal space IS with nitrogen gas, and then supplies hydrogen to the internal space IS so that the concentration of oxygen in the internal space IS decreases due to the action of the catalyst 20. Supply.

  If the anaerobic chamber 10 is damaged, hydrogen may leak from the anaerobic chamber 10. As a typical example, the anaerobic chamber 10 is provided with an operation glove, and the tip of the glove becomes thin due to wear or the like, and a hole can be opened there. A relatively large amount of hydrogen may leak from the internal space IS to the external space OS through such holes.

  The detection unit 70 detects the leakage of hydrogen from the internal space IS to the external space OS based on the deformation of the anaerobic chamber 10 due to a decrease in the pressure of the internal space IS. More specifically, the detection unit 70 can be configured to measure a change in the height of the ceiling portion 12 of the anaerobic chamber 10, for example. When hydrogen leaks from the internal space IS to the external space OS, the pressure of the internal space IS decreases, and as a result, the height of the ceiling portion 12 of the anaerobic chamber 10 can be decreased as illustrated in FIG. Therefore, the detection unit 70 can detect the leakage of hydrogen from the internal space IS to the external space OS by measuring the change in the height of the ceiling portion 12 of the anaerobic chamber 10. For example, the detection unit 70 is configured to determine that hydrogen has leaked from the internal space IS to the external space OS when the height of the ceiling 12 of the anaerobic chamber 10 falls below a preset threshold value. sell.

  The detection part 70 can be attached to the upper part of the flame | frame 50 provided around the anaerobic chamber 10, for example. The detection unit 70 can include, for example, an ultrasonic sensor that measures a distance using ultrasonic waves.

  The alarm unit 80 issues an alarm in response to detection of hydrogen leakage by the detection unit 70. The alarm can be made, for example, by sound and / or light. Alternatively, the alarm may be transmission of alarm information to another device.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Anaerobic culture apparatus 10 Anaerobic chamber 12 Ceiling part 20 Catalyst 30 Environment control part 50 Frame 60 Shelf 70 Detection part 80 Alarm part IS Internal space OS External space

Claims (3)

An anaerobic chamber configured by a flexible member and partitioning the internal space from the external space;
An environmental control unit for supplying hydrogen to the internal space such that the catalyst disposed in the internal space promotes the reaction between hydrogen and oxygen to reduce the concentration of oxygen in the internal space;
A detection unit for detecting hydrogen leakage from the internal space to the external space based on deformation of the anaerobic chamber due to a decrease in pressure in the internal space;
An alarm unit that issues an alarm in response to detection of hydrogen leakage by the detection unit;
An anaerobic culture apparatus comprising: The detection unit is configured to measure a change in height of the ceiling portion of the anaerobic chamber,
The anaerobic culture apparatus according to claim 1. The detection unit includes an ultrasonic sensor that measures a distance using ultrasonic waves.
The anaerobic culture apparatus according to claim 1 or 2.