JP2576327B2 - Animal stress device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an animal for automatically applying temperature change stress (repetitive low temperature stress) by repeatedly placing small animals such as mice, rats, and guinea pigs in a low temperature environment and a high temperature environment. It relates to a stress load device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When raising the environmental breeding temperature of experimental animals every hour during the rest period, during the day, and keeping the temperature low during the night, during the active period, the breeding is carried out for several days.
An animal is subjected to stress called RT stress.
The animal subjected to the SART stress has various changes in physiological functions, and it is considered from the changes that the animal may be an animal model of autonomic imbalance.

Conventionally, in order to rhythmically change the temperature of the rearing environment, a low-temperature rearing room and a high-temperature rearing room at a constant temperature are prepared, and at a predetermined time, a mouse is picked up by hand and a transition between the two rooms is performed. Had gone.

[0004]

In this conventional method, in addition to environmental temperature fluctuations, stress is given to an animal by being pinched when being picked up. There was a problem that could not be grasped accurately.

[0005]

According to the present invention, there is provided an animal stress load apparatus comprising: a low-temperature constant-temperature room and a high-temperature constant-temperature room disposed adjacently via a partition; and a low-temperature constant-temperature room and a high-temperature constant temperature through an opening provided in the partition. An animal stress load device comprising an experimental animal breeding table capable of moving to and from a constant temperature room, and a driving device for reciprocating the breeding table, wherein the breeding table is provided in the low temperature constant temperature room and the high temperature constant temperature room. A lid-like portion is provided which comes into contact with the edge of the opening of the partition when closed to the normal position and closes the opening.

[0006]

In the animal stress load device of the present invention,
The animals are placed on a breeding stand, and are raised sequentially in a low-temperature constant temperature room and a high-temperature constant temperature room.

[0007] At a predetermined time, the breeding table is automatically moved, and the animal is moved from one of the low temperature constant temperature room and the high temperature constant temperature room to the other.

In this transfer, since the breeding table is moved to the adjacent room through the opening of the partition, the movement can be performed in a very short time. Moreover, it is not necessary to grasp the animal at all, and no stress is imposed by the animal being grasped, and only the temperature stress is applied.

In this transfer, the animals are directly transferred from one of the low-temperature constant temperature room and the high temperature constant temperature room to the other, so that the animals are bred only in the temperature environment under exactly two conditions. Street temperature stress is applied.

[0010] Further, when the breeding table is moved from one of the low temperature constant temperature room and the high temperature constant temperature room to the normal position of the other room,
A lid provided on the breeding table closes the opening of the bulkhead,
The low-temperature constant-temperature room and the high-temperature constant-temperature room are automatically and reliably sealed.

Of course, in the apparatus of the present invention, since the breeding table is moved by the driving device, the operation of moving the breeding table is extremely simple, and automation is easy.

[0012]

Embodiments will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 3 is a front view of the animal stress load device according to the embodiment, FIGS. 1 and 2 are internal configuration diagrams showing the inside in a see-through manner, FIG. The figure is a view taken in the direction of the arrow in FIG.

The present apparatus has a three-layered main body 16 having a low-temperature constant temperature room 10, a high-temperature constant temperature room 12, and a machine room 14 having entrances and exits 2 and 4, and opening and closing doors 6 and 8, for animals, and a cage 18 for storing animals. 20 for alternately moving the heater between the constant temperature chambers 10 and 12, a refrigerator 22 for adjusting the temperature of each chamber, and the electric heater 2
6. An operation box 30 for controlling the turning on / off of the lighting 28 in the constant temperature room and the upper and lower portions of the driving unit.

The main body 16 is a thermostatic chamber 1 whose upper stage is 4 ° C.
0, the middle stage is a constant temperature room 12 at 24 ° C., and the lower stage is a machine room 14 having a drive unit 20 and an operation box 30.
The partition 32 between 0 and 12 has thermal insulation to eliminate the effects of heat transfer between the chambers. This partition 32 has a cage 1
An opening 34 is provided for allowing the passage of the passage 8.

The cage 18 is placed on a breeding table 36. The breeding table 36 includes a floor plate 42 that is connected to the top plate 38 via a pillar 40 and is integrated. When the breeding table 36 is lowered to the lowermost limit, the lower surface of the top plate 38 is seated on the peripheral portion of the opening 34 in the upper surface of the partition 32, and both the constant temperature chambers 10 and 12 are sealed. Conversely, when the breeding table 36 is raised to the ascending limit, the upper surface of the floor plate 42 abuts on the periphery of the opening 34 on the lower surface of the partition wall 32, and the two constant temperature chambers 10 and 12 are sealed.

The shock when the top plate 38 or the floor plate 42 hits the partition 32 is reduced or absorbed, and both the constant temperature chambers 1
In order to hermetically seal 0 and 12, rubber packing 46 is attached to the peripheral edges of the opening 34 on both upper and lower surfaces of the partition 32.

Further, in order to prevent the drive section from being damaged due to the bias of the load when the breeding table 36 is moved up and down, the columns 40 provided at the four corners of the breeding table 36 are passed through the guide holes of the partition wall 32.
The column 40 is used as a guide rod. The breeding table 36 is provided with a cage 18 positioning plate 47 so that the cage 18 does not protrude out of the opening area at the time of up / down movement due to the position and movement of the rat in the cage. Further, the protection cover 48 and a rubber seal 50 are used to prevent failure due to animal dung and urine entering the drive device 20.

The automatic movement mechanism between the two rooms adopted in the present embodiment enables the automatic and unlimited continuous operation of the manual transfer between the constant temperature chambers by picking up the rat after the lapse of the same time. With the timer in the operation box 30, the interval of the up / down exercise can be set arbitrarily. Then, when the timer is turned on and off, the motor of the driving device 20 automatically rotates forward and backward, and repeats the upward and downward movements.

The drive unit 20 is provided with a positioning switch for setting an ascending limit and a descending limit of the upward and downward movement, respectively, to enable reliable operation detection and malfunction prevention.
The refrigerator 22 employs a direct expansion type in which the intake air and the circulating air in the constant temperature chamber 10 are directly cooled, and the two constant temperature chambers 10 and 1 are used.
2 was covered by one unit, enabling continuous operation and miniaturization of the compressor as much as possible. The blowing temperature of the refrigerator 22 is 4 ° C. 24
The air at 4 ° C. is supplied to the constant temperature room 12 at a temperature of 4 ° C. through a duct 52 connected by a steel plate after being reheated by a multi-stage electric heater 26. The heater 26 is provided in multiple stages, of which one stage is used for coarse adjustment and one stage is used for fine adjustment.

In order to secure fresh air in the constant temperature chambers 10 and 12,
The intake side is always sucked and exhausted from the duct 58 with the damper 56 for adjusting the air volume, and the exhaust side is always sucked and exhausted from the pipe fan 60.

The operation box 30 enables selection of an operation method (automatic / manual) of the driving device 20, the refrigerator 22, the pipe fan 60, and the lighting 28, and an arbitrary setting of an interval for movement between the constant temperature chambers.

In the temperature adjusting mechanism of the present embodiment, the constant temperature chambers 10 and 12 at different temperatures are maintained by one refrigerator 22 and the electric heater 26 for reheating, thereby realizing miniaturization and freezing. A device has been devised to suppress variations in cool air temperature caused by turning on and off the compressor.

4 ° C. by the propeller fan of the refrigerator 22
The air and fresh air in the constant temperature room 10 are sucked and sent to the refrigerator 22. The air of 4 ° C. cooled by the refrigerator 22 is blown out to a 4 ° C. constant temperature chamber 10 from a grill 62 capable of adjusting an air volume in the middle of a cold air duct 52 made of a steel plate to maintain a constant temperature. As described above, outside air is always taken in from the duct 58 to maintain a constant freshness. A part of the 4 ° C. air cooled by the refrigerator 22 flows downward through the cool air duct 52 and is heated to 24 ° C. by the two-stage electric heater 26 in the middle of the cool air duct 52, so that the air volume can be adjusted. The air is blown out from the grill 64 into the constant temperature chamber 12 at 24 ° C. to maintain the constant temperature. The inside of the constant temperature chamber 12 is exhausted by the pipe fan 60 and has a mechanism for maintaining a constant freshness.

The temperatures of the constant temperature chambers 10 and 12 are detected by a temperature detection switch, and are controlled by turning on and off the refrigerator 22 and the electric heater 26.

In the thus constructed animal stress load apparatus of the present embodiment, the animal is housed in the cage 18 on the breeding table 36, and sequentially in the low temperature constant temperature chamber 10 and the high temperature constant temperature chamber 12. Bred.

At a predetermined time, the breeding table 36 is moved, and the animal is moved from one of the low temperature constant temperature room 10 and the high temperature constant temperature room 12 to the other.

At the time of this transfer, the cage 18 moves the partition 3
The transfer can be performed in a very short time because the transfer is made to the adjacent room through the second opening 34. Moreover, it is not necessary to grasp the animal at all, and no stress is imposed by the animal being grasped, and only the temperature stress is applied.

In this transfer, the animals are directly transferred from one of the low-temperature constant temperature chamber 10 and the high-temperature constant temperature chamber 12 to the other, so that the animals are bred only in exactly two different temperature environments. Temperature stress is applied.

Further, when the breeding table 36 is moved from one of the low temperature constant temperature room 10 and the high temperature constant temperature room 12 to a normal position of the other room, the floor plate 42 or the top plate 38 of the breeding table 36 is opened. 34 is closed, and the low temperature constant temperature chamber 10 and the high temperature constant temperature chamber 12 are automatically and reliably sealed.

Of course, in the present embodiment, the breeding table 36
Is moved by the driving device 20, so that the operation of moving the breeding table 36 is extremely simple.

In the present invention, a window for viewing the inside of the constant temperature chambers 10 and 12 may be provided.

In the above embodiment, the low-temperature constant-temperature room 10 is provided above the high-temperature constant-temperature room 12. In addition, low temperature constant temperature room 10
May be provided beside the high temperature constant temperature chamber 12.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are a front view and a right side view of an animal stress load device according to an embodiment in which low and high constant temperature chambers are horizontally adjacent to each other. FIGS. 6 is a front perspective view, and FIG. 7 is a right side perspective view. In FIG. 6, the flow of air inside is also indicated by arrows.

The apparatus has a three-layer main body 86 having a low-temperature constant temperature room 80, a high-temperature constant temperature room 82, an air conditioner room 83, and a machine room 84 having animal entrances 72, 74 and opening and closing doors 76, 78, A driving device 90 for alternately moving the animal housing cage 88 between the constant temperature chambers 80 and 82, a refrigerator 92 and an electric heater 96 for adjusting the temperature of each chamber, and turning off / on the lighting 98 in the constant temperature chamber.
Operation box (operation panel) 1 for controlling the reciprocating movement of the input and drive units
00 and the like.

The main body 86 has a low-temperature constant-temperature room 80 on the left side, a high-temperature constant-temperature room 82 on the right side, and a machine room 84 below them. Partition wall 10 between constant temperature chambers 80 and 82
Reference numeral 2 has a heat insulating material (eg, urethane foam which is lightweight and has a high heat retaining effect) to eliminate the influence of heat transfer between the chambers. The partition 102 has an opening 104 through which the cage 88 passes.
Is provided.

The cage 88 is placed on a rearing table 106. The breeding stand 106 includes a pair of left and right side plates 108 and 11.
0 and a floor plate 112. When the breeding stand 106 is moved to the horizontal movement limit in FIGS.
The outer peripheral surface of 08 or 110 is fitted to the inner periphery of the opening 104 of the partition 102, and both the constant temperature chambers 80 and 82 are sealed.

It is to be noted that the shock when the side plates 108 and 110 hit the partition 102 is alleviated and absorbed, and both the constant temperature chambers 8 are used.
In order to hermetically seal 0,82, side plates 108,110
A rubber packing 116 is adhered to the outer peripheral portion.

The cage 88 tilts due to the position and movement of the rat in the cage 88, so that the cage 88 does not protrude outside the open area when the rearing table 106 moves left and right, and animal dung and urine enter the driving device 90. In order to prevent failure or malfunction due to the above, a removable cage positioning pan 118 is provided.

The automatic movement mechanism between the two rooms adopted in the present embodiment enables the automatic and unlimited continuous operation of the manual transfer between the constant temperature chambers by picking up the rat after the lapse of the same time. The interval between the left and right reciprocating motions can be arbitrarily set by a timer in the operation box 100. Then, when the timer is turned on and off, the geared motor 119 of the driving device 90 automatically rotates forward and reverse to repeat the left-right movement. This geared motor 1
A guide roller 120 is provided to reduce the load of the device 19.

The driving device 90 is provided with limit switches 121A and 121B for setting respective movement limits of the left and right reciprocating movements of the breeding table 106, thereby enabling reliable operation detection and malfunction prevention.

The refrigerator 92 employs a system in which the intake air and the circulating air in the constant temperature chamber 80 are directly cooled.
0,82 was covered by one unit, and continuous operation and miniaturization of the compressor were made possible as much as possible. Low-temperature air is sucked into the high-temperature constant-temperature chamber 82 via a fan 122, and is supplied by being reheated by an electric heater 96.

In order to secure fresh air in the constant temperature chambers 80 and 82,
The intake side always sucks and exhausts air from the outside air suction fan 128 with a damper for adjusting the air volume, and the exhaust side constantly sucks and exhausts air from the fan 130.

The operation box 100 enables selection (automatic / manual) of an operation method of the driving device 90, the refrigerator 92, the fan 130, and the lighting 98, and an arbitrary setting of an interval for movement between the constant temperature chambers.

In the temperature adjusting mechanism of the present embodiment, the constant temperature chambers 80 and 82 having different temperatures are maintained by one refrigerator 92 and the electric heater 96 for reheating, thereby realizing miniaturization and freezing. A device has been devised to suppress variations in cool air temperature caused by turning on and off the compressor.

The outside air suction fan 128 sucks air and fresh air (outside air) in the low temperature constant temperature chamber 80 and sends them to the refrigerator 92. The low-temperature air cooled by the refrigerator 92 is blown out to the entire low-temperature constant temperature chamber 80 from an air dispersion air guide 132 composed of two stepped punching plates to maintain a constant temperature. This low temperature constant temperature room 80
Inside, forced convection is formed, and air is sucked out from the upper left ceiling in FIGS. As described above, the fresh air is always taken in from the outside air suction fan 128 to maintain a constant freshness.

A part of the air cooled by the refrigerator 92 also flows through the fan 122 to the right in FIGS. Then, it is heated by the electric heater 96. The warmed air is blown out to the entire high-temperature constant temperature chamber 82 from the air guide 134 for air distribution composed of two stepped punching plates, and the constant temperature is maintained, together with the circulating air in the high temperature constant temperature chamber 82 by the fan 123. I do. In the high temperature constant temperature chamber 82, forced convection is formed, and air is sucked out from the upper right ceiling in FIGS. The inside of the constant temperature chamber 82 is exhausted by the exhaust fan 130 and has a mechanism for maintaining a constant freshness.

The temperatures of the constant temperature chambers 80 and 82 are detected by a temperature detection switch, and PID control of the refrigerator 92 and the electric heater 96 is performed.

In the thus constructed animal stress load apparatus of the present embodiment, the animals are housed in the cage 88 on the breeding table 106, and sequentially in the low temperature constant temperature chamber 80 and the high temperature constant temperature chamber 82. Bred.

At a predetermined time, the breeding table 106 is moved, and the animal is moved from one of the low temperature constant temperature room 80 and the high temperature constant temperature room 82 to the other.

At the time of this transfer, the cage 88 moves the partition 1
Since it is moved to the adjacent room through the opening 104 of 02, the movement can be performed in a very short time. Moreover, it is not necessary to grasp the animal at all, and no stress is imposed by the animal being grasped, and only the temperature stress is applied.

In this transfer, since the animals are directly transferred from one of the low-temperature constant temperature chamber 80 and the high-temperature constant temperature chamber 82 to the other, the animals are bred only in exactly two different temperature environments. Temperature stress is applied.

Further, when the breeding table 106 is moved from one of the low temperature constant temperature chamber 80 and the high temperature constant temperature chamber 82 to the normal position of the other chamber, the side plates 108 and 110 of the breeding table 106 close the opening 104 of the partition wall 102. It is closed, and the low-temperature constant temperature chamber 80 and the high-temperature constant temperature chamber 82 are automatically and reliably sealed.

Of course, in the present embodiment, the breeding table 10
6 is moved by the driving device 90, the operation of moving the breeding table 106 is extremely simple.

It should be noted that the effect of the repetitiveness due to rapid temperature changes of raw materials such as chemicals, pharmaceuticals, foods and the like, and materials and parts such as steels, automobiles, ICs and the like can be examined using the apparatus of the present invention.

[0055]

As described above, in the animal stress load device of the present invention, only the thermal stress can be applied to the animal. In addition, stress can be imposed only by two different temperatures. Further, the low-temperature constant-temperature room and the high-temperature constant-temperature room are reliably and easily sealed. Further, it is possible to automatically perform the work of applying stress to the animal.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an internal configuration diagram of an animal stress load device.

FIG. 2 is an internal configuration diagram of the animal stress load device viewed from another angle.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the animal stress load device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a front view of an animal stress load device according to another embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a right side view of the animal stress load device of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a front perspective view of the animal stress load device of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a right side perspective view of the animal stress load device of FIG. 4;

[Explanation of symbols]

 10,80 Low temperature constant temperature room 12,82 High temperature constant temperature room 18,88 Cage 20,90 Drive 22,22 Refrigerator 26,96 Electric heater 36,106 Breeding stand 38 Top plate 42 Floor plate 100 Operation box 108,110 Side plate 112 Floor plate

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Michio Nagasawa, Inventor Michio Nagasawa, 7-12 Nibancho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Inside Tsumura Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-1-277438 (JP, A)

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] A laboratory animal breeding table that can move between the low-temperature constant temperature room and the high-temperature constant temperature room through an opening provided in the low-temperature constant temperature room and the high-temperature constant temperature room, which are disposed adjacent to each other via a partition; A driving device for reciprocating the breeding table, comprising: a breeding table, wherein the breeding table is moved to a normal position in the low-temperature constant-temperature room and the high-temperature constant-temperature room, and the opening edge of the partition wall. An animal stress load device, comprising: a lid-like portion that abuts on the lid to close the opening.