JP4606093B2 - Thermostatic device - Google Patents

Description

  This invention is ideal for germination tests, research on biological clocks such as animals and plants including insects, algae culture, microbial culture, plant culture, insect and small animal breeding, etc. With regard to such a thermostatic device, these objects can be directly illuminated from above or the like.

  In general, various types of test devices have been proposed in order to grasp changes and behaviors of test objects (hereinafter referred to as samples) under predetermined environmental conditions. For example, as an environmental test, there is a temperature environmental test for grasping a change in a sample under a predetermined temperature condition, and there is a thermostatic device as a kind of equipment used for this test.

  That is, as shown in FIGS. 10 (a) and 10 (b), the thermostatic device 51 uses a heat insulating material to form a rectangular parallelepiped heat insulating sealed tank 53 whose upright shape is upright, and a lower part in the sealed tank 53. In addition, an air conditioning unit 56 including a cooler and a blower fan (not shown) is disposed as a first temperature control means, and a small chamber 54 that can be stacked in multiple stages in the vertical direction and accommodates a sample is disposed above the air conditioning unit 56. Each of the small chambers 54 is provided with a heating heater (not shown) as a dedicated second temperature control means. In the thermostatic device 51, the air in the sealed tank 53 is circulated and circulated by the blower fan, and the supplied air is adjusted to a predetermined base temperature by the cooler. Each of the small chambers 54 sucks in the supplied air, passes the air through the chamber, returns the air to the air conditioning unit 56 side, and heats the intake air to a predetermined temperature by each heating heater. Each chamber 54 is adjusted to an independent set temperature by compensating so that the temperature becomes the set temperature.

  The incubator configured as described above is called a temperature gradient incubator and is used for various experiments. This temperature gradient incubator is mainly used for plant germination tests, algae culture, microorganism culture, microorganism culture, insect and small animal breeding, and research on biological clocks such as animals and plants including insects. Its main feature is that it can perform experiments in which multiple temperature conditions are set at once in each chamber formed in multiple stages without taking up installation space with a vertically long and compact configuration in the height direction.

  On the other hand, biological experiments often require sunlight as well as temperature. That is, the thermostatic device requires light from an illumination lamp. As in the actual outdoor environment, it is best to illuminate from the top of each small room.

  However, there have been many problems with the thermostatic chamber configured to use a conventional hot cathode fluorescent lamp as a lighting fixture. In other words, in addition to disturbing the delicate temperature setting in the room, the heat generated from the luminaire may damage the sample due to the heat, or the indoor lamp may be taken up by the size of the lighting lamp, and the sample may not fit in the room. There was a problem such as.

  Therefore, a hot cathode fluorescent lamp is disposed outside the tank to perform modified illumination from the side. That is, as shown in FIG. 10 (b), among the wall-shaped members forming the small chambers 54, the back surface or front surface (inside) member 61 constituting the small chambers 54 is paired (insulated, multi-layer glass). ), And a hot cathode fluorescent lamp 60 is attached to a location on the back side or front side (door side) with respect to the tank 53. The hot cathode fluorescent lamp 60 is a long fluorescent lamp having a length that reaches from the lowermost chamber 54 to the uppermost chamber 54, and is arranged in a predetermined number so as to stand upright in a substantially vertical direction. Yes. In addition, the shelf plate 62 separating the small chambers 54 is made of heat-insulating thick glass so that the light transmitted through the room can reach not only the small chamber 54 but also the upper and lower small chambers 54, 54. . On the other hand, the hot cathode fluorescent lamp 60 is arranged around the tank 53 so as to irradiate the sample contained in the tank 53 with illumination light from the side or obliquely, and devise to reduce the variation in illuminance. It was.

  However, in the above-described conventional configuration, since the illumination device is installed outside the small chamber containing the sample, the illumination efficiency becomes low and power consumption increases to compensate for this low amount, which is not preferable in this aspect. There was a disadvantage that the whole was enlarged and disadvantageous in terms of production cost.

  In other words, the direction of the incident light into the room is a horizontal horizontal direction or an oblique direction, the absorption of light due to glass transmission is included, and the illuminance compared to the direct direct illumination of a general lighting lamp Illumination efficiency was low from the viewpoint of variation and waste of illumination. For this reason, there has been a long-awaited need for efficient illumination by unidirectional direct illumination.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a thermostatic device that solves the problems of the conventional device and can improve the illumination efficiency to save power and reduce costs.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, in the invention according to claim 1, a tank having a heat-insulated and sealed structure in which a heat shielding property with respect to the outside of the apparatus is ensured is formed in the apparatus main body, and a sample is placed in the tank. In the thermostat having a plurality of chambers that can be accommodated in multiple stages with a circulation passage for circulating the air in the tank outside the chamber, each chamber can be individually set in temperature. Are each formed in a substantially box shape with hermeticity, and a member forming the ceiling surface thereof is detachably provided, and the light emission that does not affect the room temperature by illuminating the interior of the lower surface that becomes the ceiling surface of the member A plurality of bodies are arranged in a predetermined arrangement, and the illumination light from the light emitter is configured in a stepwise gradient type illumination pattern configured so that the illuminance gradually decreases, so that the illuminance continuously decreases Consistent gradient-type lighting pattern, configured with a predetermined range It is obtained from any one of a plurality of illumination patterns such as an illumination pattern for each emission type configured to illuminate for each emission type, and is configured to change in the horizontal direction of the chamber. ing.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the light emitter is a cold cathode fluorescent lamp.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the light emitter is a light emitting diode.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to third aspects, the light emitter is a lighting unit that is separable from a member that forms a ceiling surface .

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to fourth aspects, the lighting of each of the small chambers is individually controlled, and each of the small chambers has either a predetermined temperature difference or a lighting time difference, or both. It is controlled to have a difference.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the first to fifth aspects, each of the small chambers adjusts the air in the tank to a predetermined temperature and circulates the first temperature control means, and the circulating air. And a second temperature control means for compensating the room temperature of each chamber to the set temperature based on the adjusted temperature.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the sixth aspect , the adjustment temperature of the first temperature control means is set to be equal to or lower than the lowest temperature among the set temperatures of the small chambers, and the second temperature control of the small chambers. The means compensates for the temperature difference between the adjusted temperature and the set temperature of each chamber, and adjusts each room temperature to the set temperature.

  According to the present invention, a light emitter that does not affect each room temperature is directly installed in each room to illuminate each room, so that the illumination efficiency can be improved and the overall apparatus can be made compact and power can be saved. And cost reduction. That is, it is possible to directly illuminate the sample without affecting each room temperature. For this reason, it is possible to improve the illumination efficiency, reduce the power consumption, and to make the entire apparatus compact compared to the configuration in which the illuminating device is disposed outside the room. As a result, production costs and operation costs can be reduced.

  A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 is a front view of the thermostatic device, FIG. 2 is a side view, FIG. 3 is a plan sectional view, and FIGS. 4A to 4C are schematic views showing details of the illumination configuration. 4 (d) to 4 (h) are schematic explanatory views showing different types of illumination states, and FIGS. 5 (a) to 5 (c) show each room in an operation example set to a predetermined environmental condition. It is a graph which shows the temperature change of. This thermostatic device has small chambers arranged in five layers in the vertical direction. Samples are stored in these small chambers so that various experiments can be performed in which each small chamber is individually set to a predetermined environmental condition. Yes.

  That is, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the thermostatic device 1 is formed in the apparatus main body 2 with a heat-insulated and sealed tank 3 that has a predetermined heat shielding property from the outside of the apparatus. In addition, a plurality of small chambers 4 for storing samples arranged in multiple stages are partitioned in a predetermined manner in the tank 3 while ensuring circulation passages 5A and 5B for circulating the air in the tank outside the small chamber 4. An air conditioning unit that is a first temperature control unit that is formed and is supplied to the lower part of the apparatus main body unit 2 so as to adjust and feed the in-tank air as a medium defining a reference temperature to a predetermined temperature. 6, an operation panel 7 for inputting and setting the environmental conditions of each small chamber 4 and displaying the current environmental state, and controlling the operation of each part in accordance with the input setting conditions. And a setting input unit 8 having a control unit (not shown). These small chambers 4 and 4 have heating heaters 9 as second temperature control means for adjusting the room temperature of each small chamber 4 to a predetermined temperature based on the temperature of the circulating air. The temperature becomes higher, and the individual chambers 4 can be set independently. That is, the thermostatic device 1 is configured to obtain a temperature gradient in which the temperatures of the small chambers 4 rise in stages while securing a predetermined temperature difference with each other as the temperature increases.

  The apparatus main body 2 uses a thin plate-like stainless steel plate and a steel plate to form a rectangular parallelepiped heat insulating sealed tank 3 whose outer shape is upright, and the front part constituting the sealed tank 3 is shown in FIG. The outer door portion 3a shown in FIG. 2 is provided so as to be openable and closable with the vertical peripheral edge at the right end thereof as a vertical hinge axis. Further, on the vertical side wall surface as the inner surface of the closed tank 3 and the upper and lower horizontal wall surfaces, a plate-like foamed polystyrene 11 which is a light and inexpensive heat insulating material is provided so as to be almost in contact with each surface. The heat insulation and sealing tank 3 ensure heat insulation.

  Each of the small chambers 4 is formed in a substantially box shape having hermeticity, and secures a floor surface having a width of about 40 cm and a depth of about 50 cm. That is, each of the small chambers 4 is divided into the sealed tank 3 in the left-right direction and the back side by the vertical plates 12 serving as the left and right side wall surfaces and the back wall surface of each chamber, and the substantially sealed tank 3 is partitioned. After securing a long space part in the vertical direction of the central part of the central part, the space part is equally divided in the vertical direction by a horizontal shelf plate 13, and these small chambers 4 are arranged in multiple stages in the vertical direction. Air circulation passages 5A and 5B reaching from the lowermost chamber 4 to the uppermost chamber 4 are formed and secured on both sides of the left and right sides of the respective chambers 4, respectively. Therefore, the air circulation passage 5A on the right side in the figure feeds air upward from the air-conditioning unit 6 to pass through each of the small chambers 4, and the air that has passed through each of the small chambers 4 is sent to the left air circulation passage. A circulation path for returning to the lower air conditioning unit 6 is formed by 5B.

  Further, the opening in FIG. 1 which is the front surface of these small chambers 4 is a plate-like opaque as shown in FIG. 2 provided so that it can be opened and closed laterally with the vertical peripheral edge on the right side of the opening being the hinge axis of the vertical axis. Each of the inner doors 4a can be individually opened and closed without interfering with the inner doors 4a of the upper and lower small chambers 4. Therefore, when a sample is stored in or taken out from a certain chamber 4, only the inner door portion 4a of the chamber 4 needs to be opened and closed, so that the set temperatures of the other chambers 4 do not have to be disturbed. In addition, a magnet 14 is installed on the periphery of the right opening of these small chambers, and the opening / closing end side of the inner door portion 4a is attracted by the magnetic force of the magnet 14 so that the inner door portion 4a is locked in a closed state. Yes. When the inner door portion 4a is formed of a nonmagnetic material such as a plastic plate, a member capable of attracting magnetic force such as an iron piece may be provided at the location of the inner door portion 4a corresponding to the magnet 14.

  Therefore, since it is configured as a double door composed of the outer door portion 3a of the sealed tank 3 and the inner door portion 4a of each small chamber 4 in this way, each small chamber 4 is closed with only a single door portion for each chamber. Compared to the configuration, the heat shielding effect, that is, the heat insulation effect can be further enhanced. Moreover, the structure of this double door can enhance the shielding effect of light entering the room from the outside of the apparatus. For this reason, the bright and dark environment in the room does not depend on the external environment and can be controlled arbitrarily. On the other hand, in addition to this, in the case of such a double door configuration, a gap is formed between the inner door portion 4a and the outer door portion 3a, and circulating air is allowed to flow through this gap. An air jacket may be formed. Therefore, according to this configuration, in addition to the heat insulating action by the outer door portion 3a as the fixing member, a heat shielding action is obtained by carrying away the heat transferred air by always interposing the air flow by the air jacket. Higher heat shielding effect can be expected.

  Further, in the substantially lower part of the right side wall surface of each small chamber 4, a vertically long suction port 4b arranged in the horizontal direction is formed, and this suction port 4b opens into the air circulation passage 5A for feeding. And the room communicates. The left side wall surface opposite to the side wall surface is provided with a discharge port (not shown) that is generally formed in the same manner, and this discharge port opens into the return air circulation passage 5B and communicates with the room. . In addition, in each suction port 4b other than the suction port 4b provided in the lowermost chamber 4 is provided with an internal fan 15 which is a small blower fan with the air supply direction directed to the indoor side. The fan 15 sucks air from the air circulation passage 5A into the room. The lowermost chamber 4 is not provided with the internal fan 15 at the suction port 4b. That is, the small chamber 4 is located in the vicinity of the air conditioning unit 6, and the circulating air that has reached the position of the suction port 4 b of the small chamber 4 remains sufficiently strong, so that the circulating air is surely kept in the small chamber 4. It is because it can be taken in. Therefore, the air sucked into the room from the right air circulation passage 5A through the respective suction ports 4b passes through the small chambers 4 and is discharged to the left air circulation passage 5B.

  A room temperature sensor (not shown) as a temperature detecting means (not shown) is installed in each of the small chambers 4, and the detection signal output line is connected to the control unit to detect the room temperature of each of the small chambers 4 individually and constantly. Thus, the control unit can grasp it. Instead of providing the internal fan 15 for sucking the circulating air into the room near the intake port 4b, a structure in which an exhaust fan for exhausting air from the room is provided at the exhaust port, or the internal fan 15 and the exhaust fan 2 It is good also as a structure which provided the one fan.

  Further, in the vicinity of the suction port 4b of the small chamber 4, heating heaters 9 are provided as respective second temperature control means. That is, the heating heater 9 feeds the circulation passage 5A to the suction port 4b of the small chamber 4 opened in the circulation passage 5A in the circulation passage 5A for feeding disposed outside the small chamber 4. It is provided at a location on the upstream side of the flowing air, and a long bar-like electric heating body extending in a direction crossing the circulation passage 5A is installed at this location. These heating heaters 9 have a heat generation capability that can heat at least the circulating air sucked into the suction port 4 b to a set temperature for each of the small chambers 4. The operation is controlled by the control unit. In the lowermost chamber 4, the temperature of the circulating air adjusted by the air conditioning unit 6 becomes the room temperature as it is, and therefore the heating heater 9 for the chamber 4 is not provided.

  Moreover, as shown to Fig.4 (a)-(c), the shelf board 13 as a member which formed the ceiling surface of each small chamber 4 is formed in the lower surface used as the ceiling surface by the some small diameter straight tube shape. Cold cathode fluorescent lamps 17 are arranged in a predetermined arrangement. That is, these cold cathode fluorescent lamps 17 are thin straight tubes having a tube diameter of 3.0 mm (selectable in a range of 1.6 to 3.0 mm) and are formed to have the same length. It has a length slightly shorter than the length from the near side to the other back side. The cold cathode fluorescent lamps 17 are arranged in parallel in the left-right width direction of the small chamber 4 at a predetermined interval. Therefore, the ceiling surface of the small chamber 4 is surface-illuminated so that the sample accommodated in the small chamber 4 can be illuminated from above. In addition, in this case, the shelf board 13 is a shelf board 13 that is a member constituting the ceiling surface of the uppermost compartment 4 in addition to the shelf board 13 that partitions the compartments interposed between the upper and lower compartments 4. Shall be included.

  This cold cathode fluorescent lamp 17 is abbreviated as CCFL (Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamp), and is a fluorescent lamp in which mercury is enclosed in a two-terminal structure, has a simple structure and a longer life than a hot cathode, and an abnormal voltage rise at the end of the life. It is said that problems such as (heating) do not occur. The cold cathode fluorescent lamp 17 is a light emitter that does not affect the room temperature of each chamber 4. That is, at least the room temperature of the small chamber 4 is affected, and the temperature adjustment capability of the small chamber 4 by the heater 9 and the flow rate of air passing through the chamber after the temperature is adjusted by this adjustment capability. On the other hand, the magnitude of the total amount of heat generated from the plurality of cold cathode fluorescent lamps 17 arranged on the ceiling surface is an extremely small ratio that does not affect the room temperature of the small chamber 4.

  Further, a switch (not shown) included in each cold cathode fluorescent lamp 17 and a lamp driving circuit (not shown) that can adjust the illumination intensity are connected to the control unit via a wiring (not shown). Therefore, this control unit controls on / off of each cold cathode fluorescent lamp 17, that is, controls the lighting state of the cold cathode fluorescent lamp 17, and can control the illumination intensity in the lit state. . Reference numeral 17A denotes a fluorescent tube main body serving as a light emission source, 17a denotes a ballast for each fluorescent lamp, and 17b denotes a reflecting plate provided between the fluorescent tube main body 17A and the ceiling surface and formed with a reflective curved surface directed downward. The reflecting plate 17b reflects the illumination light directed from the lamp toward the ceiling surface side of the small chamber 4, and increases the illumination efficiency toward the floor surface (sample side). Further, a light diffusing plate for equalizing the illumination light from the fluorescent tube main body 17A may be provided below the fluorescent tube main body 17A.

  Further, the thermostatic device 1 is configured such that the illumination of each chamber obtained from the plurality of cold cathode fluorescent lamps 17 arranged in this way becomes illumination light that changes in the horizontal direction of the small chamber 4. That is, it is configured to obtain any one of the illumination patterns shown in FIGS. In each of FIGS. 4D to 4H, the length of the downward arrow shown represents the intensity (amount) of illumination intensity (light quantity).

  First, the illumination pattern shown in FIG. 4D is configured so that uniform illumination intensity (light quantity) can be obtained as a non-gradient illumination in the horizontal plane direction in the small chamber 4. That is, all the cold cathode fluorescent lamps 17 are controlled so as to emit light with the same amount of light. Accordingly, the illuminance is almost uniform throughout the entire room without shifting the illuminance distribution in the small chamber 4.

  Further, in the illumination pattern of FIG. 4 (e), as stepwise gradient type illumination, it is the same from the front side of the small chamber 4 to the back side direction, but stepwise as it goes to the right in the left-right width direction of the small chamber 4. The illuminance is reduced. That is, the cold cathode fluorescent lamps 17 each having a unique amount from a high light amount to a low light amount are grouped and arranged for each light amount at each stage, or each light amount is changed using the cold light source fluorescent lamp 17 of variable light amount type. Control is performed so that the light emission state is changed from a high light amount to a low light amount sequentially for each group of stages.

  Further, in the illumination pattern of FIG. 4 (f), as continuous gradient type illumination, it is the same from the front side of the small chamber 4 to the back side, but is continuous as it goes to the right in the lateral width direction of the small chamber 4. The illuminance is reduced. That is, the cold cathode fluorescent lamps 17 each having a light amount ranging from a high light amount to a low light amount are arranged at predetermined intervals, or the light amount variable type cold cathode fluorescent lamp 17 is used for each lamp sequentially. The light emission is controlled from a high light amount to a low light amount.

  In addition, the illumination pattern of FIG. 4G is configured to illuminate for each light emission type by dividing the light emission type according to a predetermined range in the left-right width direction. That is, for example, a white-light-emitting cold-cathode fluorescent lamp 17 having three wavelengths is disposed in the left section of the ceiling surface in FIG. 5G, and a Vitalite (Harrison) as a cold-cathode fluorescent lamp is disposed in the central section. Toshiba Lighting Co., Ltd.) is arranged, and other types of cold cathode fluorescent lamps are arranged in the right section so that different types of illumination light can be obtained for each section.

  In addition, in the illumination pattern of FIG. 4H, in the illumination pattern of any of the above (d) to (g), the lighting and extinguishing with a predetermined lighting time or lighting time set as the intermittent lighting are performed. It is configured to repeat. That is, as the flashing illumination, all the cold cathode fluorescent lamps 17 are controlled to be turned on all at once for a predetermined time and repeatedly turned off all at once for a predetermined time.

  Therefore, according to the configuration having these illumination patterns, an illumination environment according to various test conditions and requirements can be individually provided in each room. That is, since a lighting environment in which a wide variety of lighting patterns are formed as a test apparatus can be maintained, the thermostat apparatus is optimal for various tests.

  In addition, in each illumination pattern of said FIG.4 (d)-(g), although comprised so that illumination light might change in the left-right width direction of the small chamber 4, naturally, it changes from the near side of the small chamber 4 to the back | inner side direction. You may comprise as follows.

  Further, the thermostatic device 1 is configured so that the user can arbitrarily select and change the illumination pattern. That is, these shelf boards 13 are configured to be easily detachable and replaceable from the respective small chambers 4 so that the illumination patterns can be replaced with different shelf boards 13. In addition, the number of cold cathode fluorescent lamps 17 can be increased or decreased according to the illuminance required for each room. That is, the shelf board 13 is configured such that the cold cathode fluorescent lamp 17 installed on the shelf board 13 can be electrically connected to the apparatus main body 2 side through a small number of sockets and connectors (not shown). The device itself is configured to be easily detachable.

  Therefore, in addition to the effect of the configuration in which each illumination pattern is formed, according to the configuration in which the shelf plate 13 can be replaced in this way, it is easy to repair and replace the illumination in each chamber, and the small chamber 4 The shelf board 13 having the number of cold cathode fluorescent lamps 17 corresponding to the required illuminance can be exchanged. For this reason, since the required illuminance can be secured by using the minimum number of cold cathode fluorescent lamps 17 as consumable parts, the operation cost can be reduced and the power consumption can be made efficient and reduced.

  The cold cathode fluorescent lamps 17 arranged in a predetermined manner may be integrated into a unit so as to be separable from the shelf board 13, and this illumination unit may be configured to be exchangeable with an illumination unit having a different illuminance. May be. Therefore, according to the configuration in which the cold cathode fluorescent lamps 17 arranged in a predetermined number are easily attached to and detached from the shelf board 13 and can be exchanged, in addition to the above effects, the small chamber 4 that does not require illumination is used. Since the lighting unit can be removed, the space in the small chamber 4 can be expanded. Further, as compared with the configuration in which the cold cathode fluorescent lamp 17 is integrated with the shelf board 13, it is only necessary to handle a single lighting unit mainly composed of the cold cathode fluorescent lamp 17, so that the handleability can be improved as a replacement part. Storage space can be reduced.

  A small fan for stirring is provided in the small chamber 4, and the air in the small chamber 4 is stirred by this small fan, so that the temperature can be quickly and uniformly distributed throughout the room without deviating the temperature distribution in the small chamber 4. You may make it do.

  The setting input unit 8 sets and inputs the temperature and lighting state as the environmental conditions of each small room 4 and displays the room temperature. Based on the environmental conditions set and input from the operation panel 7, the setting input unit 8 determines the operation of each unit. And a control unit composed of a control circuit for controlling.

  That is, the operation panel 7 includes a main panel 21 and an illumination setting panel 22. The main panel 21 includes one main switch for turning on / off the power supply of the entire apparatus, and a horizontal array of the small chambers 4. Five input switch groups for inputting and setting the set temperature are arranged. The illumination setting panel 22 includes a clock display type lamp timer that inputs and sets the illumination time zone of the cold cathode fluorescent lamp 17, and five lamp switch groups arranged in the vertical direction. By switching on and off, the cold cathode fluorescent lamps 17 in each chamber are switched to an operable state, and the current state of the lamps is displayed in a light-emitting manner. Therefore, the user inputs and sets various conditions from the operation panel 7 to set the common setting for changing the temperature and lighting of each room in the same manner in all the small rooms 4, and the time for each small room 4. Individual settings that can be adjusted and changed individually can be selected arbitrarily.

  The air-conditioning unit 6 mainly includes a cooler 25 that adjusts the air in the tank to a predetermined temperature, and a circulation fan 26 that feeds the adjusted air to the circulation passage 5A to circulate through the tank. The cooling operation of the cooler 25 is controlled by the control unit. That is, the air-conditioning unit 6 has a configuration in which the cooler 25 and the circulation fan 26 are sequentially arranged in a passage 27 that communicates the lower ends of both the air circulation passages 5A and 5B. The passage 27 is formed with a relatively large passage cross-sectional area, and the air flow rate in the passage 27 is reduced so that the cooling performance by the cooler 25 can be sufficiently obtained. In addition, a relatively large-diameter circulation fan 26 is installed downstream of the cooler 25 in the air circulation direction with the feeding direction directed toward the lower end side of the air circulation passage 5A obliquely above. The circulation air fan 26 obtains a sufficient air supply flow rate. Reference numeral 28 denotes a heat exchanger for exhausting heat from the cooler 25 together with the exhaust air when the outside air is introduced into the air conditioning unit 6 and discharged, and 29 is heat exchanged with the cooler 25. This is a compressor for circulating a heat exchange medium in a predetermined compression / expansion cycle with the cooler 28, and the cooler 25 is cooled by transporting heat from the cooler 25 and discharging it outside.

  In addition, a measuring means (not shown) capable of measuring the temperature of the circulating air is provided at an appropriate place where the circulating air passes, and the control unit cools the cooler based on the actual measured temperature of the circulating air detected by the measuring means. The cooling operation is controlled to maintain the temperature of the circulating air at a predetermined target temperature.

  Therefore, in this thermostatic apparatus 1, when setting a temperature environment, the input switch of the operation panel 7 is operated and the set temperature of each room is input. That is, the temperature of the lowermost chamber 4 becomes the lowest set temperature, and a temperature difference gradient is formed in which the room temperature rises step by step for each of the lower chambers 4 as it rises to the upper stage. This temperature difference can be adjusted in a temperature gradient from a minimum of 2 ° C. to 5 stages. For example, in the case of this five-stage type, the temperature difference of each stage chamber 4 can be adjusted such as 2 ° C., 4 ° C., 6 ° C., 8 ° C., and 10 ° C. Further, for example, as shown in FIG. 5 (a), the minimum set temperature as a base can be changed and the temperature difference between the chambers can be changed at an arbitrary time. Thus, in this thermostatic device 1, the temperature difference between the vertically adjacent small chambers 4 can be set uniformly or randomly, or each small chamber 4 can be set to the same temperature.

  That is, the temperature of the circulating air that has passed through the cooler 25 is set to the lowest temperature among the set temperatures set in the small chambers 4 by the cooler 25 of the air conditioning unit 6. In other words, the control unit selects the lowest temperature among the desired set temperatures set for each of the small chambers 4, and this selected temperature becomes the target temperature as the control target, and the temperature of the circulating air is the target temperature. Thus, the cooling operation of the cooler 25 is controlled.

  In the constant temperature device 1 configured in this way, the air that has circulated and returned through the tank 3 passes through the cooler 25, is adjusted to a predetermined target temperature by the cooler 25, and is circulated by the circulation fan 26. The air adjusted to the target temperature is sent upward in the circulation passage 5A. At this time, the air intervening in the gap formed between the outer wall surface of the member forming each small chamber 4 and the inner wall surface of the sealed tank 3 does not stay in that portion, and finally circulates and blows air. Since it moves in the direction approaching the fan 26 and most of it passes through the cooler 25, in addition to the passive heat shielding effect by the fixed heat insulating member, active heat shielding by this air flow is performed. An effect is obtained.

  The circulating air thus fed rises in the circulation passage 5A while being partially sucked into the small chambers 4 of each stage, and the circulating air that has passed through the small chambers 4 is discharged to the circulation passage 5B. The circulation passage 5B is lowered and returned to the air conditioning unit 6. Therefore, the temperature of each small chamber 4 is defined by the temperature of the circulating air sucked into each small chamber 4. The actual temperatures of these small chambers 4 are individually controlled by the heating heaters 9 that have been heated to compensate for the temperature difference between the set temperature of each small chamber 4 and the target temperature of the circulating air. Is done. That is, the control unit controls the heating operation of the heating heater 9 so as to compensate for the temperature difference. Moreover, since the control part always grasps | ascertains the room temperature of each small chamber 4, it adjusts finely the emitted-heat amount of the heating heater 9 according to the fluctuation | variation of this room temperature.

  Therefore, according to the thermostatic device 1, each of the small chambers 4 can maintain and maintain a constant temperature state at a desired set temperature with high accuracy in each small chamber 4. That is, the temperature in the small chamber 4 can be accurately set by balancing the balance of thermal energy in the small chamber 4. In addition, the air flowing into the small chambers 4 as the small chambers having a relatively small volume with respect to the reference circulating air temperature is heated by the dedicated heating heaters 9 respectively. Since temperature compensation is performed, the temperature in the small chamber 4 can be easily controlled. For this reason, the temperature in each small chamber 4 can be set to a required temperature with high accuracy while eliminating the mutual temperature interference between the small chambers 4 and 4 and making each small chamber 4 independent.

  For this reason, each of the small chambers 4 does not need to be provided with a thick heat insulating layer as a member that surrounds the entire circumference thereof, so that the internal space of each of the small chambers 4 can be increased accordingly. On the other hand, since the role of the heat insulating member forming the heat insulating layer is reduced and the thickness can be reduced, the utilization efficiency of the internal space as the device is increased, and the outer shape of the entire device can be slimmed. For this reason, it is possible to reduce the material used to manufacture the device and save space. As a result, a low temperature thermostat 1 can be obtained.

  Furthermore, even when the sample in each chamber is a minute amount or generates heat or absorbs heat, the control unit always keeps track of the room temperature and controls the heating operation of the heating heater 9 that regulates the temperature of the air sucked into each chamber. Therefore, it can be maintained at a predetermined set temperature. In particular, a sample generates heat or absorbs heat as a living matter, such as a living organism, and the room temperature is maintained at a predetermined level even if the amount of heat generation or endotherm varies depending on the illumination state or growth stage. be able to.

  In addition, in the thermostatic device 1, when setting the day / night cycle environment in addition to the temperature environment setting described above, the lamp timer of the operation panel 7 is operated to turn on the cold cathode fluorescent lamp 17 during the daytime. Alternatively, enter the night time when the lights are off and set the day / night time zone. Therefore, in this case, for example, as shown in FIG. 5 (b), the switching between day and night is repeated for a predetermined time, and the small chambers 4 maintain the temperature difference between them according to the switching between day and night. The temperature is switched to the set temperature for daytime or nighttime.

  Furthermore, according to this thermostatic device 1, in the day / night cycle, as shown in FIG. 5 (c), the day / night cycle of each small room 4 is not set identically, but is set individually for each small room 4, In association with the individually set day and night time zones, the temperature of each small room 4 can be set to change individually. That is, in each unit 4, the temperature and light (light / dark illuminance) can be freely combined based on the indoor environment setting specific to the room 4 in which the temperature and light (light / dark illuminance) of each chamber 4 are freely combined. It can be changed at any time to other indoor environment settings.

  Therefore, even in the case of research that requires a long time from the start to the end of the test, such as germination of organisms, long-term culture, breeding, etc., the environment under various temperature conditions and various combinations of day and night time Research to compare and evaluate can be performed efficiently, and such control tests can be performed in parallel at the same time. For this reason, it is possible to obtain a research result obtained by comparing and evaluating samples arranged in various environmental conditions in one test as the number of tests, and the reliability as a research result is also increased. That is, when the test is divided into a plurality of test times, the environmental conditions are slightly different each time, and the test result is expected to be affected. Since only one test is required, the above effect can be avoided at all. As a result, it is possible to increase the speed of conducting the test research while increasing the reliability of the test.

  As described above, according to the constant temperature device of the first embodiment, the cold cathode fluorescent lamp has a small amount of heat generated during illumination, and can be disposed in each room. In other words, this constant temperature device has a configuration in which a plurality of cold cathode fluorescent lamps are arranged in a predetermined arrangement on the ceiling surface of each small room, so that it is possible to efficiently irradiate with direct illumination by proximity illumination, eliminating variations in illumination and waste. . On the other hand, since the cold cathode fluorescent lamp can be formed in a small diameter, it can be arranged in a close array and has a long rod shape and a uniform light distribution. Therefore, the sample can be irradiated from the ceiling surface as uniform surface illumination. For this reason, the quality of the illumination with respect to a sample can be improved.

  Further, it is possible to perform illumination in the vicinity of the sample directly above the sample without interposing anything between the cold cathode fluorescent lamp and the sample. That is, the distance between the light source and the object to be illuminated is shortened, and illumination from directly above is possible. Therefore, sufficient illumination can be obtained without increasing the illuminance. Since the illumination efficiency can be improved in this way, the power consumption required for illumination is reduced by the increase in efficiency, and as a result, power saving can be achieved. In particular, a sample such as a living organism that is affected by light in the outdoor environment receives light from the same direction as that in the outdoor environment, and is thus optimal as illumination for this sample experiment.

  Furthermore, it is possible to effectively utilize the narrow space generated in the space between the shelves for forming the narrow space and the small chamber of each stage. In particular, in the growth of plants and the like, even when grown to just below the cold cathode fluorescent lamp, the influence of heat is reduced. Therefore, the indoor space can be used more effectively and effectively for such a sample that is easily affected by heat.

  On the other hand, since the illumination can be arranged in the room in this way, a structure for transmitting the illumination from the outside into the room is not required while ensuring heat insulation, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. That is, even if it is not necessary to select an expensive material such as a heat insulating glass shelf or a heat insulating multi-layer glass, a cheap material can be selected, so that the price can be reduced. On the other hand, since direct proximity illumination can be performed, the thermostatic device can be made compact compared to conventional external illumination in which illumination fixtures are arranged outside each room.

  In addition, since the heat generated by the lighting in each room is reduced, the cooling load can be reduced. In addition, energy saving can be achieved with low power consumption. Furthermore, since the cold cathode fluorescent lamp has a long service life, it does not require maintenance and can improve usability. That is, the life is 4 to 10 times longer than that of the conventional hot cathode fluorescent lamp. For example, since the endurance time is 50000 hours, the use of a general thermostat does not require replacement for at least 5 years. For this reason, as a thermostat, the whole running cost can be reduced. As a result, it becomes a multistage thermostat which is energy-saving and cost-saving and friendly to the global environment.

  In addition, the cold cathode fluorescent lamp can freely select an emission color and can perform light control with fine brightness. For this reason, the illumination environment which a sample requires or requests | requires as test conditions can be obtained suitably. As a result, according to the thermostat, a test environment according to various conditions can be maintained. On the other hand, precise environmental control in each room can be performed by combining various environmental conditions based on temperature and illuminance.

  In particular, in this thermostatic device, each chamber can be controlled to have a predetermined illumination time difference, and in addition to this illumination time difference, it has both a difference in temperature difference that changes in conjunction with the illumination time. Therefore, it is an optimal thermostat for research on biological clocks (biological clocks). That is, a daytime environment and a nighttime time arbitrarily set between a daytime environment arbitrarily set to a predetermined daytime temperature and daytime illuminance and a nighttime environment arbitrarily set to a nighttime illumination including a predetermined nighttime temperature and zero. The day / night cycle consisting of repeating the above is assigned to each small room as a day / night cycle in which any one or several of these temperatures, illuminances, and times are set differently. Changes in the behavior of samples under different day and night cycles can be tracked and investigated, enabling efficient detailed research.

  In addition, in the conventional configuration in which lighting devices are arranged around the outside of the small room, the user occupies a positional relationship with the light emitting point of the lighting device, so the work of installing the sample in the small room or observing the installed sample Although the work is likely to be hindered, according to this configuration, since the illumination is performed from the ceiling surface, such a situation can be prevented in advance. That is, the sample installation work and the observation work can be reliably and easily performed.

  Next explained is the second embodiment of the invention. FIG. 6 is a front view of the thermostatic device of the second embodiment, FIG. 7 is a side view, FIG. 8 is a plan sectional view, and FIG. 9A is a schematic diagram showing details of the illumination configuration. FIG. 9B is a schematic diagram showing the illumination arrangement on the ceiling surface. In the second embodiment, the same parts as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, the description thereof is simplified or omitted, and different parts are mainly described.

  In the thermostatic device 31 of the second embodiment, a light emitting diode is used instead of the cold cathode fluorescent lamp of the first embodiment. That is, in this thermostatic device 31, as shown in FIGS. 6 to 8 and FIG. 9A, a predetermined number of light emitting diodes (LEDs) 32 that secure the necessary illuminance of the small chamber 4 are provided on the ceiling of the small chamber 4. They are arranged on the surface. The light emitting diode 32 is abbreviated as LED (Light Emittinng Diode), and is a light emitter that does not affect the room temperature of each of the small chambers 4 like the cold cathode fluorescent lamp. The light emitting diodes 32 have a circuit configuration in which individual diode units or some predetermined number are grouped, and the light emission state can be controlled by the control unit in these individual units or group units. Has been.

  Therefore, according to the second embodiment, in addition to obtaining all the effects of the first embodiment, the amount of protrusion from the ceiling surface is small, and the cold light illumination has a structure in close contact with the ceiling surface. Therefore, the indoor space can be used more effectively and effectively for a sample that is easily affected by heat, and a light-emitting diode that is a solid element is used as a light-emitting element for a light-emitting body. It is excellent in impact property, and when the shelf board 13 having the ceiling surface is exchanged, the handleability of the shelf board 13 can be improved. In particular, light-emitting diodes do not change their color temperature even when they are dimmed, so the appearance of the sample to be illuminated does not change, and it is possible to check the sample and accurately and precisely observe it while it is housed in the room. It becomes.

  In the thermostatic device 31 of the second embodiment, a light emitting diode capable of variably controlling the light emission amount is used, and a large number of light emitting diodes having a small minimum unit as a light emitter are arranged in a planar shape. , It can be configured to combine spot lighting. In other words, since illumination with light emitting diodes can produce a large number of small illumination spots, it is characterized in that fine control can be performed by distinguishing each spot individually, in series, randomly, and by block.

  That is, in the thermostat 31, the room illumination can be an illumination pattern that changes in one direction as shown in FIGS. 4D to 4H of the first embodiment, and FIG. As shown to b), it can be set as the illumination pattern changed according to two directions or diagonal directions as a plane direction. In particular, any one of the illumination patterns shown in FIGS. 4D to 4H can be assigned to each spot block formed by dividing each spot block.

  Therefore, the indoor lighting in which the illuminance (light quantity) gradient in the indoor plane direction is formed in a predetermined manner by proportionally controlling the voltage and time applied to the light emitting diode individually or by block. Can do. That is, fine illumination control is possible even in one room. For this reason, the quality of the illumination with respect to each sample accommodated in the room can be improved. As a result, the test environment can be further enhanced and optimized with respect to lighting.

  In the first and second embodiments described above, the example in which the light emitter is installed only on the ceiling surface of each room has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the surface on which the inner wall surface of each room is formed. If necessary, one surface or a plurality of surfaces may be selected as necessary, and the light emitter may be installed on the selected surface. That is, for example, a light emitter may be installed only on the floor surface of each room, or a light emitter may be installed on both the ceiling surface and the floor surface. It is good also as the structure which carried out.

  In each of the first and second embodiments, the example applied to the temperature gradient type thermostatic apparatus has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and each chamber is individually provided with a plurality of chambers that can accommodate samples. Any one of the first and second embodiments, or a combination of both, may be applied to this type of thermostatic device as long as the temperature can be set independently. That is, for example, a table-type thermostatic device having two chambers in the upper and lower stages, a thermostatic device having a configuration in which small chambers are arranged in multiple rows in the vertical direction and in multiple rows in the vertical direction, and humidity is arbitrarily added to the temperature of each small chamber The present invention can be applied to a thermostat known as an artificial meteor that can be set, and a thermostat known as a multi-tank type bio multi-incubator having a configuration controlled to an air jacket type heat insulation and base temperature. That is, this multi-tank type thermostatic apparatus accommodates each chamber having a sealed structure that secures a path through which a sample can be taken in and out in a chamber while ensuring a predetermined gap around each chamber. Without passing the circulating air of the temperature, let the surroundings of each room pass and stably maintain the surrounding temperature environment at the base temperature, and by the temperature adjustment operation of each indoor temperature adjusting means installed in each room, The base temperature is set to compensate for the set temperature of the chamber. On the other hand, for example, a small chamber in which a cold cathode fluorescent lamp is installed in one thermostatic device and a small chamber in which a light emitting diode is installed are mixed, or a cold cathode fluorescent lamp and a light emitting diode are arranged in a predetermined manner on the ceiling surface of one chamber. Or may be combined as appropriate.

  Further, each of the small chambers may have a dark room type configuration in which light is completely shielded from the outside, or a configuration in which an observation window that allows arbitrary light shielding and allows observation of an internal sample from the outside is provided in the small chamber. Furthermore, the internal shape and internal volume of each small chamber may be the same or different.

  Moreover, although each embodiment demonstrated centering on the example of the biological sample, it is not restricted to this, Naturally, this thermostat can be used also inanimate. In particular, if this inanimate object is affected not only by temperature but also by light, such as an artificial object installed in the outdoor environment, it is necessary to consider this effect. It becomes the optimal thermostatic device to do.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a front view which shows the whole structure of the thermostat of 1st Embodiment of this invention, fractures | ruptures a part of apparatus front surface, and shows the main structures inside. It is a right view which shows the whole structure of the thermostat of this 1st Embodiment, fractures | ruptures a part of apparatus side surface, and mainly shows the small chamber as the internal structure. It is the plane sectional view which showed the internal structure of the thermostat of this 1st Embodiment. The lighting configuration of the thermostatic device of the first embodiment is shown, (a) is a schematic cross-sectional view of a small room showing the indoor lighting arrangement, (b) shows the lighting arrangement of the ceiling surface (a) The top view of a bb arrow direction in the inside, (c) is a schematic external view which shows a cold cathode fluorescent lamp, (d)-(h) is the schematic explanatory drawing which showed the illumination state of a respectively different kind. . The operation example of the thermostatic device of this embodiment is shown, (a) is a graph showing the room temperature change of each chamber, (b) is a graph showing the room temperature change of each chamber changing with the day and night cycle, (c ) Is a graph of changes in room temperature in which each room is set to have different day and night cycles. It is a front view which shows the whole structure of the thermostat of 2nd Embodiment of this invention, and fracture | ruptures and shows a part of apparatus front surface. It is a right view which shows the whole structure of the thermostat of this 2nd Embodiment, and mainly shows the small chamber as the internal structure. It is the plane sectional view which showed the internal structure of this thermostat. The lighting structure of the thermostat of this 2nd Embodiment is shown, (a) is a schematic cross-sectional view of the small room which showed the indoor lighting arrangement, (b) showed the lighting arrangement of the ceiling surface in (a) It is a top view of the bb arrow direction in FIG. The whole structure of the thermostat which attached the conventional illumination outside is shown, (a) is a front view, (b) is a right view.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,31 Constant temperature apparatus 2 Apparatus main-body part 3 Sealed tank 3a Outer door part 4 Small chamber 4a Inner door part 4b Suction port 5A Circulation path (for feeding)
5B Circulation path (for return) 6 Air conditioning unit 7 Operation panel 8 Setting input unit 9 Heating heater 11 Styrofoam 12 Vertical plate 13 Shelf plate 15 Fan in the chamber 17 Cold cathode fluorescent lamp 21 Main panel 22 Lighting setting panel 25 Cooler 26 Circulating fan 32 Light-emitting diode (LED)

Claims (7)

In the main body of the device, a heat-insulated and sealed tank with a predetermined heat shielding property against the outside of the device is formed, and a plurality of small chambers that can contain samples are circulated inside this chamber, and the air in the tank is circulated outside the small chambers. In a thermostatic device that has a multi-stage with a circulation passage for allowing each chamber to be set independently of temperature,
Each of the small chambers is formed in a substantially box shape having hermeticity, and a member forming the ceiling surface thereof is detachably provided, and the lower surface that becomes the ceiling surface of the member illuminates the room and affects the room temperature. A plurality of light emitters that are not applied are arranged in a predetermined arrangement, and the illumination light from the light emitters is configured in a stepwise gradient type illumination pattern configured such that the illuminance decreases stepwise, the illuminance continuously Any one of a plurality of illumination patterns, such as a continuous gradient illumination pattern configured to decrease, or an illumination pattern for each emission type configured to illuminate for each emission type divided in a predetermined range It is obtained from the illumination pattern, and is configured to change in the horizontal direction of the small chamber.   The thermostat according to claim 1, wherein the light emitter is a cold cathode fluorescent lamp.   The thermostat according to claim 1, wherein the light emitter is a light emitting diode.   The thermostat according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the light emitter is a lighting unit that is separable from a member that forms a ceiling surface.   5. The lighting of each of the small chambers is individually controlled, and each of the small chambers is controlled to have a predetermined temperature difference or a lighting time difference from each other, or both. The thermostat according to any one of the above.   Each of the small chambers adjusts the air in the tank to a predetermined temperature and circulates the first temperature control means, and based on the adjusted temperature of the circulating air, the second chamber compensates the room temperature of each of the small chambers to the set temperature. A thermostat according to any one of claims 1 to 5, further comprising a temperature control means.   The adjusted temperature of the first temperature control means is set to be equal to or lower than the lowest temperature among the set temperatures of the small chambers, and the second temperature control means of the small chambers sets the temperature between the adjusted temperature and the set temperature of the small chambers. The thermostat according to claim 6, wherein the room temperature is adjusted to the set temperature by compensating for the difference.

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