JP2018102182A - incubator - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an incubator which can minimize as much as possible the generation of dust when housing or taking out a culture vessel therefrom.SOLUTION: An incubator 1 that cultures a culture product housed in a culture vessel 4 housed therein comprises: a main body 1A that houses the culture vessel 4; a closing member 1B that closes a delivery port 1b formed in the main body 1A; a shelf board 5 provided in the main body 1A; and support means 6 that supports the shelf board 5. Rollers 11, 23 are provided on at least one of the shelf board 5 and the support means 6, and the shelf board 5 can be withdrawn from the delivery port 1b by the rotation of the rollers 11, 23. Furthermore, a tray 7a on which the culture vessel 4 is placed and which is equipped with rollers 31 is provided. The tray 7a can be moved above the shelf board 5 by the rotation of the rollers 31.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to an incubator, and more particularly to an incubator that accommodates and cultures a culture container that contains a culture.

Conventionally, in order to culture a culture, the culture container containing the culture is stored in an incubator, and as such an incubator, one having a plurality of shelves inside is known ( Patent Document 1).
Also, an incubator is known that supports the shelf board by supporting means so that the shelf board can be moved in the horizontal direction, and the shelf board can be pulled out when the culture vessel is stored and taken out. (Patent Document 2).
Furthermore, when culturing human cells / tissues used in regenerative medicine, the above incubator is connected to an isolator whose interior is kept sterile and dust-free to prevent contamination of microorganisms and foreign substances into the culture. A system is known in which the closing member of the incubator is opened inside the isolator (Patent Document 3).

Japanese Patent No. 5042545 Japanese Patent No. 5929988 Japanese Patent No. 4300703

When storing or taking out the culture vessel with respect to such an incubator, in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to slide the culture vessel on the shelf plate when placing the culture vessel on the shelf plate. In Patent Document 2, when the shelf board is moved, the shelf board slides between the support means.
When the members slide in this manner, a small amount of wear powder is generated. Therefore, even if the incubator is connected to an isolator as in Patent Document 3, dust can be prevented from being mixed into the culture vessel. Furthermore, there is a risk that dust may diffuse into the isolator.
In view of such a problem, the present invention provides an incubator capable of minimizing the generation of dust during storage and removal of a culture vessel.

That is, the incubator in the invention of claim 1 is an incubator that accommodates and cultures a culture container that contains a culture,
A main body for storing the culture vessel, a closing member for closing a carry-in / out port formed in the main body, a shelf plate provided in the main body, and a supporting means for supporting the shelf plate,
A roller is provided on at least one of the shelf plate and the support means, and the shelf plate can be pulled out from the carry-in / out port by rotation of the roller,
Further, the culture vessel is placed and a tray provided with a roller is provided, and the tray can be moved on the shelf board by the rotation of the roller provided on the tray.

According to the above invention, since the shelf and the support means are in rolling contact with each other by the roller, these slides do not occur when the shelf is moved, and generation of dust and the like can be suppressed as much as possible.
Further, since the culture container is placed on a tray that can be moved by a roller, generation of dust and the like can be suppressed even when the culture container is moved on the shelf.

The figure which showed the connection state of the isolator and incubator in a present Example Front view showing the internal structure of the incubator Side view showing the internal structure of the incubator Plan view showing the internal structure of the incubator

The illustrated embodiment will be described below. FIG. 1 shows a state in which an incubator 1 according to the present invention is connected to an isolator 2. In the isolator 2, an operation of accommodating a culture in a culture container is performed, and then the culture container Is stored in the incubator 1, and then the culture is cultured in the incubator 1.
The incubator 1 and the isolator 2 are decontaminated in the interior space with hydrogen peroxide vapor before use, and the interior of the isolator 2 is maintained in a sterile environment and is aseptically directed from above to below by a sterile air supply means. A one-way flow by air is formed.
A carry-in / out opening 1b that can be opened and closed by an opening / closing door 1B as a closing member is formed in front of the main body 1A constituting the incubator 1, and the inside is maintained in an aseptic environment by sealing the carrying-in / out opening with the opening / closing door 1B. And at a predetermined temperature and humidity suitable for culturing the culture.
Further, a glove 2a that can be worn by an operator is provided in front of the isolator 2, so that various operations can be performed. It should be noted that a robot or a transfer means having a required configuration may be provided inside the isolator 2 so that these operations are automatically performed.
While incubating the culture, the incubator 1 may maintain the connection with the isolator 2, but can be separated and moved to a location away from the isolator 2.
Therefore, the isolator 2 and the incubator 1 are connected by the connecting means 3, and specifically, the open / close doors 1B and 2A of the incubator 1 and the isolator 2 are closed as described in Japanese Patent No. 4656485. Thus, it is possible to use connection means for contacting and separating while maintaining aseptic conditions.

2 to 4 show the internal structure of the main body 1A in the incubator 1. The main body 1A is provided with a plurality of upper and lower shelf boards 5 for supporting the culture vessel 4, and each shelf board 5 has both sides of the main body 1A. It is supported by support means 6 fixed to the inner wall 1a.
Here, in the following description, the right side of the main body 1A in FIG. 2 on the side of the carry-in / out port 1b is referred to as the front side, and the left side in the drawing on the back side of the inner wall 1c facing the carry-in / out port 1b is referred to as the rear side. The side of the inner wall 1a in the left-right direction toward the entrance 1b, that is, the front side and the back side in FIG.
In addition, the shelf plates 5 shown in the middle and lower stages in FIG. 2 show the storage state positioned at the storage position, whereas the shelf plates 5 shown in FIG. 2 and the shelf plate 5 shown in FIG. Indicates the state. In addition, about the shelf board 5 shown in the lower stage of FIG. 2, the said support means 6 is abbreviate | omitted for description. 3A shows the AA portion in FIG. 2, and FIG. 3B shows the BB portion in FIG.
A tray 7 (a rear tray 7A and a front tray 7B) provided so as to be movable in the front-rear direction on the shelf board 5 is placed on the shelf board 5 of the present embodiment. The culture vessel 4 containing the culture is placed on the 7A and the front tray 7B, respectively.
With such a configuration, the shelf board 5 moves back and forth in the front-rear direction along the support means 6, and the storage position in which the entire shelf board 5 is stored in the main body 1A and the shelf board 5 are pulled out of the main body 1A. It is possible to move between the loading and unloading positions.
When the culture vessel 4 is stored in the main body 1A of the incubator 1, the rear tray 7A and the front tray 7B on which the culture vessel 4 is placed are moved on the shelf plate 5 located at the carry-in / out position. The rear tray 7A is positioned on the back side (rear side) with respect to the carry-in / out entrance 1b, and the front tray 7B is positioned on the front side (front side).

The culture container 4 used in the present embodiment is a so-called flask culture container 4, which is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped container part 4 a and a filter-attached cap 4 b provided at the tip of the container part 4 a. The container 4a contains the culture and a medium for culturing the culture.
Next, an air conditioner (not shown) supplies carbon dioxide gas to the culture space formed inside the main body 1A of the incubator 1, and maintains the required temperature and humidity to create an environment suitable for culture of the culture. It comes to form.
A loading / unloading port 1b for loading / unloading the culture vessel 4 is formed in front of the main body 1A, and the loading / unloading port 1b is closed by an open / close door 1B.
Note that the incubator 1 itself in which such a culture space is formed is known in the art and will not be described in further detail.

The shelf board 5 includes a flat placement portion 5a on which the rear tray 7A and the front tray 7B are placed, and side wall portions provided on left and right ends (upper and lower sides in FIG. 4) of the placement portion 5a. 5b, a pair of front and rear shelf rollers 11 (11a, 11b) provided near the rear of each side wall 5b, and a support provided by the support means 6 provided near the front of each side wall 5b. It is comprised from the member 12. FIG.
The placement portion 5a has a size capable of aligning the rear tray 7A and the front tray 7B in the front-rear direction, and the interval between the side wall portions 5b is set to a width that can accommodate one tray. The position of each tray 7 is regulated. Further, a handle 13 that can be gripped by an operator is provided in front.
Then, fitting recesses 5c and 5d made of through holes or depressions are formed at the four corners of the placing portion 5a, and positioning is performed by fitting later-described tray rollers 31 of the rear tray 7A and the front tray 7B. The positioning means to perform is comprised.

As shown in FIG. 3 (b), the shelf plate roller 11a is provided on a rotating shaft provided on each side wall portion 5b at a position protruding from each side wall portion 5b to the side wall surface 1a side of the main body 1A. It is provided rotatably.
The shelf roller 11a is provided on the rear end side of each side wall 5b, and the shelf roller 11b is provided closer to the center than the shelf roller 11a. The plate roller 11b is positioned lower than the plate roller 11b by a fitting amount into an engagement recess 22c described later.
As shown in FIG. 3A, the support members 12 on both sides have an L-shaped cross section, and are provided at positions adjacent to the front of the shelf plate roller 11b provided at the front. Each vertical portion 12a is fixed to the side wall portion 5b.
Further, the horizontal portion 12b of the support member 12 is provided so as to protrude toward the inner wall 1a on the side of the side wall portion 5b. The lower surface of the horizontal portion 12b is from the grounding position of the front shelf plate roller 11b. Is also located above.

The supporting means 6 includes a fixing member 21 fixed to the inner wall 1a on each side of the main body 1A, and the shelf rollers 11a and 11b on the left and right sides of the shelf 5 fixed to the upper surface of the fixing member 21. A rail member 22 having a U-shaped cross section for guiding the supporting member 12 and a supporting roller 23 for supporting the supporting members 12 on the left and right sides of the shelf board 5 from below.
Each fixing member 21 has a substantially L-shaped cross section, and a vertical portion 21a is fixed to each side inner wall 1a of the main body 1A, and a horizontal portion 21b provided horizontally from the upper end of the vertical portion 21a. The lower side 22a of the rail member 22 is fixed to the above.
Further, a plurality of bolt holes H for fixing the fixing member 21 to the inner walls 1a on each side of the main body 1A are provided in the vertical portion 21a of each fixing member 21, and these bolt holes H are elongated in the vertical direction. Yes.
As a result, the position of each fixing member 21 can be adjusted up and down within the range in which the bolt holes H are formed, thereby constituting a horizontal holding means to be described later.

Each rail member 22 has its opening facing the inside of the main body 1A opposite to the inner wall 1a on each side, and its lower side 22a is fixed to the horizontal portion 21b of the fixing member 21, and A pair of front and rear shelf rollers 11 of the shelf plate 5 moves while rotating on the upper surface of the lower side portion 22a.
As shown in FIG. 2, the front end portion of the lower side portion 22 a of each rail member 22 is located behind the front end portion of the support member 12 of the shelf plate 5 located at the accommodation position. The upper side portion 22b has a distal end portion located behind the front end portion of the lower side portion 22a.
Further, the interval between the lower side 22a and the upper side 22b is set slightly longer than the diameter of the shelf roller 11 of the shelf 5, and when the shelf 5 moves back and forth, the shelf roller 11 is moved. Is not in contact with the upper side 22b.
An engagement recess 22c made of a through-hole or a recess is formed in the vicinity of the rear end of the lower side 22a of the rail members 22, and the shelf-plate roller behind the shelf 5 located at the storage position. The engaging means and the horizontal holding means for stopping the movement of the shelf board 5 at the storage position are configured by fitting the 11a.

The left and right support rollers 23 are provided at positions adjacent to the front of each rail member 22, and are fixed to the inner walls 1a on both sides of the main body 1A by stays 24 provided separately from the fixing member 21. Has been.
The stay 24 is provided with a bolt hole H that is elongated in the vertical direction, and the position of the support roller 23 can be adjusted up and down within the range in which the bolt hole H is formed. The horizontal holding means is configured.
The support roller 23 is provided so as to protrude upward from the lower side portion 22a of the rail member 22. The support roller 23 supports the horizontal portion 12b of the support member 12 of the shelf board 5 from below. ing.
Further, between the front end portion of the lower side portion 22a of the rail member 22 and the support roller 23, an engagement recess G formed by a gap between them is formed, and when the shelf board 5 is in the loading / unloading position, Engaging means for stopping the movement of the shelf board 5 at the loading / unloading position by engaging the front shelf roller 11b with the engagement recess G is configured.

According to the shelf board 5 and the support means 6 having the above configuration, when the shelf board 5 moves between the storage position and the carry-in / out position, the shelf board rollers 11a and 11b provided on the shelf board 5 are Rolling contact is made with the rail member 22 of the support means 6, and at the same time, the support roller 23 of the support means 6 is in rolling contact with the support member 12 of the shelf plate 5.
That is, the movement of the shelf 5 is performed by rolling contact with the shelf rollers 11a and 11b and the support roller 23, so there is no sliding portion between the shelf 5 and the support means 6, and wear due to sliding. Generation of powder can be suppressed as much as possible.
When the shelf plate 5 reaches the storage position, the rear shelf plate roller 11a of the shelf plate 5 is fitted into the engagement recess 22c formed in the lower side portion 22a of the rail member 22, thereby the shelf plate. 5 is stopped at the storage position.
On the other hand, when the shelf board 5 reaches the carry-in / out position, the shelf board roller 11b on the front side of the shelf board 5 is fitted into the engagement recess G formed by the gap between the rail member 22 and the support roller 23, and the shelf board 5 is stopped at the loading / unloading position.
At this time, since the front shelf roller 11b is provided behind the front and rear intermediate point of the shelf 5, the shelf 5 tilts downward with the support roller 23 as a fulcrum. Since the rear shelf roller 11a abuts on the upper side portion 22b of the rail member 22, further inclination is prevented and the shelf plate 5 is prevented from falling off.
Further, in order to take out the shelf 5 at the loading / unloading position from the main body 1A, the shelf 5 is pulled while lifting the front of the shelf 5 so that the shelf rollers 11a and 11b get over the support roller 23 and the lower side portion of the rail member 22 above. The shelf board 5 can be removed from the support means 6 by passing between 22a and the upper side part 22b.
Furthermore, in the state where the shelf board 5 is located at the storage position, the rear end portion 5f of the shelf board 5 is in contact with or close to the rear wall surface 1c of the main body 1A with a slight clearance. When the open / close door 1B is closed, the open / close door 1B comes into contact with the handle 13 which is the front end portion of the shelf board 5 or approaches with a slight clearance. Thereby, the shelf board 5 is prevented from moving in the front-rear direction.

In this embodiment, the rear tray 7A placed on the rear side of the shelf board 5 and the front tray 7B placed on the front side have different configurations. A placement portion 7a to be placed and a tray roller 31 provided at the four corners of the lower surface of the placement portion 7a are provided.
Two culture vessels 4 can be placed on the left and right of the placement portion 7a, and a grip portion 7b to be gripped by an operator or the like is provided in front of the placement portion 7a.
Among these, the gripping portion 7b of the rear tray 7A is formed short so as not to interfere with the front tray 7B when placed on the shelf board 5. Thus, by making the shape of the gripping portion 7b different, the front tray 7B and the rear tray 7A can be distinguished.

The tray roller 31 is rotatably provided via attachment members 33 on the attachment portions 32 provided so as to protrude downward from the four corners of the bottom surface of the placement portion 7a. A bolt hole H for fixing to the mounting portion 32 is formed.
The bolt hole H is formed to be elongated in the vertical direction, so that the vertical position of the connecting member 33 can be adjusted up and down within the range in which the bolt hole H is formed. A horizontal holding means for adjusting the mounting height of the roller 31 is configured.
Further, in the mounting portion 5a of the shelf plate 5, a fitting recess 5c into which the left and right tray rollers 31a behind the rear tray 7A are fitted in order to position the rear tray 7A at a predetermined position on the rear side. Is formed.
Similarly, the mounting portion 5a is formed with a fitting recess 5d for fitting the left and right tray rollers 31b in front of the front tray 7B in order to position the front tray 7B at a predetermined position on the front side. ing.
On the other hand, a fitting recess is not formed in the central portion of the mounting portion 5a, and the tray roller 31 is fitted to a fitting recess that does not correspond when positioning the rear tray 7A and the front tray 7B. Thus, it is possible to prevent an inadvertent impact caused by overcoming this.
In the rear tray 7A, the left and right tray rollers 31a positioned rearward are positioned lower than the left and right tray rollers 31b positioned forward by the amount of fitting to the fitting recess 5c. .
Similarly, in the front tray 7B, the left and right tray rollers 31b positioned at the front are positioned lower than the left and right tray rollers 31a positioned at the rear by an amount of fitting into the fitting recess 5d. ing.
As a result, when the tray roller 31 is fitted and positioned in the fitting recesses 5c and 5d, the placement portion 7a is placed on the placement portion 5a of the shelf plate 5 located at the storage position. Is adjusted to be horizontal.

About the incubator 1 which concerns on this invention comprised as mentioned above, the operation | movement which accommodates and takes out the culture container 4 which accommodated the culture is demonstrated.
In a state where the incubator 1 is connected to the isolator 2, the opening / closing door 1B of the incubator 1 is opened from the inside of the isolator 2 by an operation using the globe 2a.
In this state, the handle 13 of one of the shelf boards 5 is grasped, and the shelf board 5 is pulled out from the inside of the main body 1A to the carry-in / out position. At this time, the shelf plate roller 11b in front of the shelf plate 5 is engaged with an engagement recess G provided between the rail member 22 and the support roller 23 of the support means 6, so that the shelf plate 5 is carried in and out. Stop in position.
In this state, the rear tray 7A on which the culture container 4 is first placed is placed on the placement portion 5a of the shelf board 5. At this time, the shelf plate 5 can be pulled out to the extent that the portion on which the front tray 7B is placed is exposed, and the front tray roller with the gripping portion 7b of the rear tray 7A facing forward. 31b is placed slightly closer to the center so as not to fit into the fitting recess 5d.
Thereafter, the rear tray 7A is gently pushed toward the rear of the main body 1A, and when the rear tray roller 31a is fitted into the fitting recess 5c formed at the rear of the mounting portion 5a, the rear tray 7A is positioned. Is done.
Next, the front tray 7B on which the culture vessel 4 is placed is placed on the placement portion 5a of the shelf board 5, and the front tray roller 31b is fitted into the front fitting recess 5d. The front tray 7B is positioned.
As a result, the rear tray 7A and the front tray 7B are supported on the shelf board 5, so that the shelf board 5 is gently pushed toward the rear of the main body 1A, and the shelf board 5 behind the shelf board 5 is used. When the roller 11a engages with an engagement recess 22c provided on the lower side 22a of the rail member 22 of the support means 6, the shelf board 5 stops at the storage position, is stored in the main body 1A, and is positioned. .
As for the front tray 7B, the empty front tray 7B is first positioned by the mounting portion 5a, and then the culture container 4 containing the culture is placed on the empty front tray 7B. Good.
When the necessary culture vessel 4 is supported on the shelf plate 5 in this way, the next shelf plate 5 can be pulled out to support a new culture vessel 4, but the open / close door 1B is closed as it is and the culture is performed. May start.
Further, when the culture vessel 4 is taken out from the incubator 1, the operation may be reversed. After opening the open / close door 1 </ b> B and pulling out the shelf plate 5 to the loading / unloading position, first the front tray 7 </ b> B is removed. Next, the rear tray 7A is pulled out and removed.
Thus, according to the incubator 1 according to the present invention, when the culture container 4 containing the culture is stored and taken out, the members such as the culture container 4 and the shelf board 5 or the shelf board 5 and the support means 6 slide with each other. Since rolling contact is made by a roller without the occurrence of dust, generation of dust such as wear powder is suppressed, dust can be prevented from entering the culture vessel 4, and can be prevented from diffusing into the isolator 2. it can.

Next, the culture state of the culture in the incubator according to the present invention will be described. Although the culture is immersed in the culture solution inside the culture vessel, in order to culture the culture in the incubator, the culture vessel is held horizontally so that the culture is not exposed from the culture solution. There is a need.
Therefore, in this embodiment, when the shelf plate 5 is in the accommodated state, the culture container 4 placed on the shelf plate 5 is held horizontally via the rear tray 7A and the front tray 7B. The position of each component is adjusted.
First, each fixing member 21 and each supporting roller 23 of the supporting means 6 fixed to the inner wall 1a on each side of the main body 1A so that the placing portion 5a is horizontal in a state where the shelf board 5 is located at the storage position. Is adjusted through bolt holes H that are elongated vertically that constitute the horizontal holding means.
In this case, the upper and lower portions between the left and right fixing members 21 and the support rollers 23 are arranged so that the above-described placement portion 5a is horizontal in a state where the shelf roller 11a behind the shelf 5 is fitted in the engagement recess 22c. The position and the vertical position of each fixing member 21 and support roller 23 are adjusted.

Next, in a state where each tray 7 is positioned on the placement portion 5a of the shelf board 5, adjustment is performed so that the placement portion 7a of each tray 7 is horizontal.
With respect to the rear tray 7A, the upper surface of the placement portion 7a is horizontal with the rear left and right tray rollers 31a fitted in the fitting recesses 5c formed on the rear side of the placement portion 5a. The upper and lower positions of the rear tray roller 31a and the front tray roller 31b are adjusted via bolt holes H that are elongated in the vertical direction of the horizontal holding means.
Similarly, with respect to the front tray 7B, the upper surface of the placement portion 7a is horizontal with the front left and right tray rollers 31b fitted in the fitting recess 5d formed on the front side of the placement portion 5a. Thus, the vertical positions of the rear tray roller 31a and the front tray roller 31b are adjusted via bolt holes H that are vertically long and constitute the horizontal holding means.
In other words, in the rear tray 7A, the rear tray roller 31a is adjusted to be positioned below the front tray roller 31b, and in the front tray 7B, the front tray roller 31b is adjusted from the rear tray roller 31a. Also adjust the position so that it is positioned below.
Note that the amount of fitting of the tray rollers 31a and 31b in the fitting recesses 5c and 5d is such that the tray roller 31 fitted by the vibration when the incubator 1 is moved drops and each tray 7 moves. It is set to such an extent that it will never happen.
Such adjustment is slightly different depending on the combination of the required shelf board 5, support means 6, rear tray 7A, and front tray 7B, so that some combination is added so that the combination does not change. It is desirable to make it.

As the culture container 4, as long as it can be placed on the rear tray 7A and the front tray 7B, it can be used for various well-known shapes such as a petri dish having a bottomed dish shape. it can.
In this embodiment, the shelf plate 5 is provided with the shelf plate rollers 11a and 11b and the support means 6 is provided with the support roller 23. However, only one of the shelf board 5 and the support means 6 is provided. It is good also as a structure which provided the roller, and can also increase / decrease the number of these rollers as needed.
Furthermore, in the said Example, although the culture container 4 is mounted using the front tray 7B provided with the roller 31 for trays also in front of the shelf board 5, a shelf board is made without sliding the culture container 4. 5 can be placed directly on the shelf 5 without the front tray 7B.
And about the positioning means which positions the shelf board 5 and the tray 7 in the said storage position, and the horizontal holding means which hold | maintains the culture container 4 horizontally, in addition to what was described in the said Example, positioning etc. are carried out using protrusion, for example It is possible to use a conventionally known technique.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Incubator 2 Isolator 4 Culture container 5 Shelf board 6 Support means 7 Tray 7A Front tray 7B Rear tray 11a, 11b Shelf roller 23 Support roller 31 Tray roller

Claims (4)

In an incubator for storing and culturing a culture container containing a culture,
A main body for storing the culture vessel, a closing member for closing a carry-in / out port formed in the main body, a shelf plate provided in the main body, and a supporting means for supporting the shelf plate,
A roller is provided on at least one of the shelf plate and the support means, and the shelf plate can be pulled out from the carry-in / out port by rotation of the roller,
An incubator further comprising a tray on which the culture vessel is placed and a roller provided, and the tray can be moved on the shelf by rotation of the roller provided on the tray.   The incubator according to claim 1, further comprising positioning means for positioning the tray at a predetermined position of the shelf board.   3. The incubator according to claim 1, wherein movement of the shelf plate is prevented when the carry-in / out port is closed by the closing member.   4. The incubator according to claim 1, further comprising engagement means for stopping the shelf board at a storage position in the main body and a loading / unloading position drawn from the loading / unloading port. .

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