JP5450326B2 - Cryogenic storage system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a cryogenic storage system for storing a container containing a sample at a low temperature, and particularly used in drug discovery, that is, a process for discovering and designing a drug in medicine, biotechnology and pharmacy. The present invention relates to a cryogenic storage system used for storing a drug discovery sample at a cryogenic temperature.

In the field of drug discovery research, it is necessary to conduct experiments for storing and analyzing large quantities of samples at low temperatures with high efficiency.
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, the solution in which the sample is dissolved is accommodated in a small cylindrical container 201 called a drug discovery microtube and sealed with a cap 202, and the sealed container 201 is divided into matrix-like compartments. A large number of the storage plates 203 are stored in the storage plate 203 for storage and transport.

  A low temperature where a large number of storage plates holding a plurality of containers for storing samples to be stored at low temperatures are stored using a storage rack that stores a plurality of vertical plates, and the target storage plate is automatically taken out as necessary. A storage system is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  As shown in FIG. 8, this known low-temperature storage system 500 includes a storage rack 504 that stores a plurality of storage plates 203 in the vertical direction, a low-temperature storage chamber 505 that stores a plurality of storage racks 504, and the low-temperature storage chamber 505. A work chamber 506 provided adjacent to the upper side of the storage chamber 506, and a plate transport mechanism 510 provided in the work chamber 506 for transporting the storage plate 203 and taking it in and out of the storage rack 504.

The plate transport mechanism 510 has storage rack moving means 511 for individually taking out and putting in the storage rack 504 from the low temperature storage chamber 505 to the work room 506, and storage plate moving means 512 for individually taking out and putting in the storage plate 203 from the storage rack 504. doing.
The storage plate moving means 512 is configured to allow the storage plate 503 to be taken in and out of the storage rack 504 and to be transported.

  By moving the plate transport mechanism 510 in the work chamber 506, the storage plate 203 holding the container 201 to be taken out is provided from the low temperature storage chamber 505 to a predetermined position on the side of the work chamber 506. It is configured to convey to the plate entrance / exit 507.

US Pat. No. 6,694,767 (all pages, all figures)

Since the known low-temperature storage system 500 as described above conveys the storage plate 503 holding the container 201 to be taken out to the plate entrance / exit 507, even if there is only one container 201 to be taken out, the storage plate The entire 203 had to be taken out from the plate entrance / exit 507.
For this reason, the other containers 201 held on the same storage plate 203 are also exposed to the external environment, causing a problem that the temperature of the sample is increased.

  In addition, it is possible to reduce the influence on the sample by setting the low temperature storage chamber 505 to an ultra-low temperature state and reducing the exposure time to the external environment for a short period of time. There was a problem that a large amount of dew condensation or frost was generated in the container 201.

Therefore, the technical problem to be solved by the present invention, that is, the object of the present invention is to automatically take out a container containing a sample stored at a low temperature to the outside and to remove the sample contained in another container. An object of the present invention is to provide a low-temperature storage system that suppresses the influence of temperature rise and prevents the formation of condensation and frost on containers and storage plates.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a storage rack for storing a plurality of storage plates for holding a plurality of containers in the vertical direction, a low-temperature storage chamber for storing a plurality of the storage racks, and an operation provided adjacent to the low-temperature storage chamber a chamber, a cold storage system and a plate transfer mechanism for loading and unloading the storage racks the storage plate is provided in the working chamber, wherein the storage plate can be taken out of the container individually from pickup mechanism, the working chamber A storage plate that is provided and is provided adjacent to the work chamber, and has a plate entrance for loading and unloading a storage plate on a side surface facing the outside of the storage chamber, and is loaded into and unloaded from the storage chamber the is placed pivots between a direction facing the direction the plate transport mechanism facing the plate doorway plate turntable is provided before inlet-outlet chamber, the working chamber Movable plate conveyance mechanism is, storage rack moving means and said advance and out separately storage plate from the storage rack inlet-outlet chamber plate turntable and out separately in the working chamber the storage rack from the cold storage compartment And the plate mounting part of the pickup mechanism are provided with a storage plate moving means that enables the storage plate to be transferred .

  In the invention according to claim 2, in addition to the configuration of the low temperature storage system according to claim 1, the pick-up mechanism includes a storage plate transported from the loading / unloading chamber by the plate transport mechanism and a storage rack by the plate transport mechanism. The above-mentioned problems are solved by being configured so that the containers can be individually transferred between the storage plates conveyed from.

  In the invention according to claim 3, in addition to the configuration of the cryogenic storage system according to claim 1 or 2, the cryogenic storage chamber is maintained in a cryogenic environment of −80 ° C. or lower, and the working chamber However, the problem is further solved by being maintained in a low humidity environment.

  In addition to the configuration of the low-temperature storage system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, the invention according to claim 4 includes a container for storing the sample to be stored in the low-temperature storage chamber. The above-described problem is further solved by being configured so that a plurality of stored storage plates can be accommodated by transferring them from the loading / unloading chamber to the storage rack.

  In addition to the configuration of the cryogenic storage system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, the invention according to claim 5 includes the cryogenic storage chamber provided below the work chamber, and the pickup mechanism includes: The problem is achieved by being provided at a position where the low temperature storage chamber does not exist below the work chamber, and the storage room is provided adjacent to the position where the pickup mechanism of the work chamber is provided. It is a further solution.

  In addition to the configuration of the low-temperature storage system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, the invention according to claim 6 is characterized in that the working chamber is maintained in a lower temperature environment than the external environment, The above-described problems are further solved.

The invention according to claim 1 is a storage rack for storing a plurality of storage plates for holding a plurality of containers in the vertical direction, a low-temperature storage chamber for storing a plurality of storage racks, and an operation provided adjacent to the low-temperature storage chamber. A low-temperature storage system having a chamber and a plate transport mechanism that is provided in the work chamber and takes a storage plate into and out of the storage rack, and a pickup mechanism capable of individually taking out containers from the storage plate is provided in the work chamber , The loading / unloading room provided adjacent to the work room has a plate doorway for loading / unloading the storage plate on the side facing the outside of the loading / unloading room, and the storage plate to be loaded / unloaded is placed in the loading / unloading room. plate swivel table to pivot between a direction facing the direction the plate transport mechanism facing the plate doorway is provided in Goods movement chamber, movable working chamber play Transport mechanism, plate mounting portion of the storage rack moving means and, in and out separately storage plate from the storage rack of goods movements chamber plate turntable and a pickup mechanism for loading and unloading separately to the working chamber storage rack from the cold storage compartment by and a storage plate moving means which allows transfers the storage plate between a storage plate which holds the container to be taken out and conveyed from the cold storage compartment to the pickup mechanism, pick up only the container to be extracted It can be taken out individually by the mechanism and carried out from the loading / unloading chamber.

  For this reason, the storage plate and other containers taken out from the low temperature storage room are not moved from the work room to the outside and are not exposed to the external environment, and are stored in other containers taken out from the low temperature storage room. The temperature change of the sample can be suppressed, and the occurrence of condensation and frost on the storage plate and other containers taken out from the low temperature storage chamber can be suppressed.

  According to the low-temperature storage system according to the second aspect, in addition to the effect exhibited by the low-temperature storage system according to the first aspect, the pickup mechanism includes the storage plate and the plate transport mechanism that are transported from the loading / unloading chamber by the plate transport mechanism. Since the container can be individually transferred between the storage plates transported from the storage rack, the empty storage plates can be transferred to the pickup mechanism by setting an empty storage plate in the loading / unloading chamber. Since it is possible to transfer only the container to be transported and taken out and transport it again to the loading / unloading chamber, the work of automatically taking out the container containing the sample stored at low temperature is more rationalized.

According to the cryogenic storage system according to claim 3, in addition to the effects exhibited by the cryogenic storage system according to claim 1 or claim 2, the cryogenic storage chamber is maintained in a cryogenic environment of −80 ° C. or lower, By keeping the working room in a low humidity environment, even if the temperature rises when the sample is taken out into the working room at an extremely low temperature of −80 ° C. or less, the storage state is not adversely affected. it can.
In addition, the greater the temperature difference between the cold storage room and the work room, the greater the occurrence of condensation and frost.However, when the work room is placed in a low humidity environment, condensation and frost are generated on containers and storage plates in the work room. Can be prevented.

  According to the low-temperature storage system according to claim 4, in addition to the effects exhibited by the low-temperature storage system according to claims 1 to 3, the plate transport mechanism includes a container for storing a sample to be stored in the low-temperature storage chamber. By storing multiple retained storage plates from the loading / unloading chamber to the storage rack and storing them, multiple containers containing samples to be newly stored are set in the loading / unloading chamber together with the storage plates. By doing so, it can be automatically transported by the plate transport mechanism and stored in the low temperature storage chamber.

  According to the cryogenic storage system according to claim 5, in addition to the effects exhibited by the cryogenic storage system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, the cryogenic storage chamber is provided below the working chamber, and the pickup mechanism is provided. The cold storage chamber is provided below the work chamber at a position where the cold storage chamber does not exist, and the entry / exit chamber is provided adjacent to the position where the pickup mechanism of the work chamber is provided. While being able to install in the slight space of both, the movement distance of a plate conveyance mechanism can be decreased.

  According to the cryogenic storage system according to the sixth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effects exhibited by the cryogenic storage system according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the work room is maintained in a lower temperature environment than the external environment. As a result, the temperature rise of the sample accommodated in the container in the working chamber can be suppressed, and the occurrence of condensation and frost due to the temperature difference can be suppressed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Whole side explanatory drawing of the low-temperature storage system of this invention. FIG. 2 is an overall plan view of the low-temperature storage system of FIG. 1. Operation | movement explanatory drawing at the time of carrying in the empty storage plate of the low-temperature storage system of FIG. Operation | movement explanatory drawing at the time of the empty storage plate movement of the low-temperature storage system of FIG. Operation | movement explanatory drawing at the time of taking out the stored storage plate of the low-temperature storage system of FIG. Operation | movement explanatory drawing at the time of the stored storage plate movement of the low-temperature storage system of FIG. The perspective view of the container stored in the low-temperature storage system of this invention, and a storage plate. The whole perspective view explanatory drawing of the conventional low-temperature storage system.

The present invention relates to a storage rack for storing a plurality of storage plates for holding a plurality of containers in the vertical direction, a low-temperature storage chamber for storing a plurality of storage racks, a working chamber provided adjacent to the low-temperature storage chamber, A low-temperature storage system having a plate transport mechanism that is provided in a room and takes the storage plate into and out of a storage rack. A pickup mechanism that can individually take out containers from the storage plate is provided in the work room and adjacent to the work room. to the goods movements chamber provided, comprising a plate doorway for loading and unloading the storage plate on the side facing the outside of the entry and leaving room, face the plate doorway by placing a storage plate which is carrying in and carrying out the goods movements chamber plates turntable to pivot between a direction facing the direction and the plate transport mechanism is provided on goods movements chamber, movable working chamber plate transport mechanism Plates placed in storage rack moving means and the position and the pickup mechanism to face and out separately storage plate from the storage rack to the entry and leaving room for the plate turntable and out separately in the working chamber storage rack from the cold storage compartment parts and a storage plate moving means for the storage plate in a position opposite to enable transfer, the sample is taken out of the vessel containing the cold archived samples individually to automatically outside housed in another container Any specific embodiment may be used as long as the effect of the temperature rise is suppressed and condensation or frost is prevented from being generated on the container or the storage plate.

An embodiment of the low temperature storage system of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
The low-temperature storage system 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention stores a storage rack 104 that stores a plurality of storage plates 203 that hold a plurality of containers 201 that store samples to be stored at a low temperature, and a plurality of the storage racks 104. A low temperature storage chamber 105, a work chamber 106 provided adjacent to the upper side of the low temperature storage chamber 105, and a plate transport mechanism 110 that transports the storage plate 203 provided in the work chamber 106 and puts it in and out of the storage rack 104. And have.

A plurality of storage plates 203 can be placed at a position where the low temperature storage chamber 105 does not exist in the lower part of the work chamber 106, and a pickup mechanism 120 capable of individually taking out and inserting the containers 201 from the respective storage plates 203 is provided. ing.
In addition, a loading / unloading chamber 108 is provided adjacent to the position where the pickup mechanism 120 of the working chamber 106 is provided, and a plate entrance 107 for loading and unloading the storage plate 203 is provided on the side facing the outside of the loading / unloading chamber 108. ing.
In the present embodiment, the loading / unloading chamber 108 is provided so as to go into the work chamber 106, and the outer surface of the loading / unloading chamber 108 and the work chamber 106 is configured to be planar.

  The plate transport mechanism 110 includes storage rack moving means 111 for individually moving a plurality of arbitrary storage racks 104 stored in the low temperature storage chamber 105 upward and downward, and arbitrary storage plates 203 stored in the storage rack 104. Storage plate moving means 112 is provided for moving in and out individually from the storage rack 104 drawn upward.

  The pickup mechanism 120 includes a plate mounting portion 122 on which a plurality of storage plates 203 can be mounted, and a pickup arm 121 having a gripping portion on which the container 201 can be individually taken out and inserted by being movable above the plate mounting portion 122. And the container 201 can be individually transferred between the plurality of storage plates 203.

  In the loading / unloading chamber 108, there is provided a plate turning table 131 on which the storage plate 203 to be carried in / out is placed and turned in a direction facing the plate entrance 107 and a direction facing the plate transport mechanism 110.

  The storage rack moving unit 111 and the storage plate moving unit 112 of the plate transport mechanism 110 are supported by a vertical moving unit 113 that can move in the horizontal front-rear direction, and the vertical moving unit 113 is orthogonal to the moving direction of the vertical moving unit 113. The entire plate transport mechanism 110 is configured to be movable in the work chamber 106 by being supported by the lateral movement means 114 that can move in the horizontal and horizontal directions.

Thus, the storage rack moving means 111 is configured to be movable between a position above the low temperature storage chamber 105, a position facing the loading / unloading chamber 108, and a position facing the pickup mechanism 120.
The storage plate moving means 112 is configured to be able to transfer the storage plate 203 to the plate mounting part 122 and the plate turning table 131 at a position facing the loading / unloading chamber 108 and a position facing the pickup mechanism 120. .

  The low temperature storage room 105 is kept in an extremely low temperature environment of, for example, −80 ° C. or less, and the work room 106 is kept in a low humidity environment isolated from the external environment in order to prevent condensation and frost. The chamber 108 is configured to be isolated from the external environment by closing the plate entrance 107.

Further, the entrance / exit chamber 108 and the work chamber 106 may also be configured to be isolated by a shutter or the like.
Further, the work chamber 106 may be kept in a lower temperature environment than the external environment to further prevent condensation and frost.
The overall shape of the low-temperature storage system 100 and the detailed shapes and structures of the components may be anything as long as the above-described operation can be performed in the above-described positional relationship.

The operation of carrying out the container 201 in the low temperature storage system 100 of the present embodiment configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS.
Each component of the cryogenic storage system 100 of the present embodiment is configured to operate by a control device (not shown), and the control unit is configured to operate based on the input information regarding the container to be taken out. ing.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the operator P places an empty storage plate 203a on the plate turning table 131 from the plate inlet / outlet 107 on the side surface of the loading / unloading chamber 108, closes the plate inlet / outlet 107, and then starts the control means. Give instructions.

First, the empty storage plate 203a carried in from the plate entrance 107 and placed on the plate turning table 131 is directed to the side facing the plate transport mechanism 110 as the plate turning table 131 turns.
In this state, the storage plate moving means 112 of the plate transport mechanism 110 takes out the empty storage plate 203a from the plate turning table 131 and transfers it to the plate mounting portion 122 of the pickup mechanism 120 as shown in FIG.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the plate transport mechanism 110 moves to the position of the storage rack 104 in which the storage plate 203 b that stores the container to be taken out is stored, and the storage rack moving means 111 moves the storage rack 104 to the low temperature storage chamber 105. The storage plate 203b is removed from the container, and the storage plate moving means 112 takes out the storage plate 203b containing the container to be taken out.

Then, as shown in FIG. 6, the plate transport mechanism 110 moves, and the storage plate 203 b that accommodates the container to be taken out is transferred to the plate mounting portion 122 of the pickup mechanism 120 by the storage plate moving means 112.
With the empty storage plate 203a and the storage plate 203b that accommodates the container to be taken out being placed on the plate placement portion 122 of the pickup mechanism 120, the pickup arm 121 is moved above the plate placement portion 122 to be taken out. A target container is picked up from the storage plate 203b that accommodates the container and transferred to an empty storage plate 203a.

When the transfer of the container to be taken out to the empty storage plate 203a is completed, the storage plate 203a to which the container to be taken out is transferred is transported to the loading / unloading chamber 108 in the reverse order of the above-described operation.
That is, the storage plate 203b in which only the container to be taken out is picked up is taken out again from the plate mounting portion 122 of the pickup mechanism 120 to the storage plate moving means 112 as shown in FIG. Move to the position of the storage rack 104.

  Then, the storage rack 104 accommodated by the storage rack moving means 111 is lifted upward from the low temperature storage chamber 105, the storage plate 203b is accommodated in the storage rack 104 by the storage plate moving means 112, and the storage rack 104 is stored again at a low temperature. It is stored in the chamber 105.

Next, the storage plate 203 a to which the container to be taken out is transferred is taken out from the plate mounting portion 122 of the pickup mechanism 120 by the storage plate moving means 112 of the plate transport mechanism 110 and transferred to the plate turning table 131.
Then, by rotating the plate turning table 131, the storage plate 203a on which the container to be taken out is transferred is directed to the plate entrance 107 side, and the operator P can take out from the plate entrance 107 on the side surface of the loading / unloading chamber 108. Become.

By operating as described above, the storage plate 203b that accommodates the container to be taken out is not carried out of the work chamber 106. Therefore, the influence of the temperature rise of the sample accommodated in the container is suppressed, and the container and It is possible to prevent condensation and frost from forming on the storage plate 203b.
In addition, by keeping the working chamber 106 in a low humidity environment and in a low temperature environment within the range in which the plate transport mechanism 110 and the pickup mechanism 120 operate, the influence of the temperature rise of the sample contained in the container is further suppressed, Condensation and frost can be prevented from occurring in the container and the storage plate 203b.

  Furthermore, a shutter or the like may be provided between the loading / unloading chamber 108 and the work chamber 106 so as to be spatially separated except when the storage plate 203b is transferred, which further increases the environment in the work chamber 106. It is maintained constant, and furthermore, it is possible to suppress the influence due to the temperature rise of the sample accommodated in the container and prevent the container and the storage plate 203b from forming condensation and frost.

Further, according to the low-temperature storage system 100 of the present invention, the storage plate 203 a that stores containers to be stored at a low temperature can be directly stored in the storage rack 104 and stored in the low-temperature storage chamber 105.
That is, as shown in FIG. 3, an empty storage plate 203 a placed on the plate turning table 131 from the plate entrance 107 on the side surface of the loading / unloading chamber 108, loaded from the plate entrance 107 and placed on the plate turning table 131. Is directed to the side facing the plate transport mechanism 110 as the plate turning table 131 turns.

Then, the storage plate moving means 112 of the plate transport mechanism 110 takes out the storage plate 203a from the plate turning table 131 and transfers it to the plate mounting portion 122 of the pickup mechanism 120 as shown in FIG.
In this state, the plate transport mechanism 110 moves above the storage rack 104 to be stored directly, pulls up the storage rack 104 accommodated by the storage rack moving means 111 from the low temperature storage chamber 105, and moves the storage plate moving means. The storage plate 203 a is accommodated in the storage rack 104 by 112, and the storage rack 104 is stored in the low temperature storage chamber 105.

  Furthermore, the container to be stored at a low temperature described above is individually set on an empty storage plate 203a and placed on the plate turning table 131 from the plate inlet / outlet 107 on the side surface of the loading / unloading chamber 108, so that the above-described container removing procedure can be performed. On the other hand, the transfer of the pickup mechanism 120 can be reversed and automatically stored in the storage plate 203b and stored at a low temperature.

As described above, according to the low-temperature storage system 100 of the present invention, the container storing the sample stored at low temperature can be automatically taken out to the outside , and the temperature of the sample stored in another container can be increased. Can suppress the occurrence of condensation and frost on the container and the storage plate.

100, 500 ... Low temperature storage system 104, 504 ... Storage rack 105, 505 ... Low temperature storage chamber 106, 506 ... Work chamber 107, 507 ... Plate doorway 108 ... Entry / exit chamber 110 , 510 ... Plate transport mechanism 111, 511 ... Storage rack moving means 112, 512 ... Storage plate moving means 120 ... Pickup mechanism 121 ... Pickup arm 122 ... Plate mounting part 131 .. Plate turning table 201 ... Container 202 ... Cap 203 ... Storage plate

Claims (6)

A storage rack for a plurality accommodate storage plate holding a plurality of containers in the longitudinal direction, and the low-temperature storage chamber to store a plurality of-holding tube rack, a working chamber provided adjacent to the cold storage chamber, provided in the working chamber A low-temperature storage system having a plate transport mechanism for taking the storage plate into and out of a storage rack,
A pick-up mechanism capable of individually removing containers from the storage plate is provided in the working chamber ,
The loading / unloading chamber provided adjacent to the work chamber includes a plate doorway for loading and unloading the storage plate on the side facing the outside of the loading / unloading chamber ,
A plate turning table for placing the storage plate to be carried in and out of the loading / unloading chamber and turning between a direction facing the plate entrance and a direction facing the plate transport mechanism is provided in the loading / unloading chamber,
The working chamber of the movable plate conveyance mechanism, a storage rack moving means and out separately in the working chamber the storage rack from the cold storage chamber, before inlet-outlet chamber and out individually the storage plate from the storage rack cryopreservation system characterized by comprising a storage plate moving means which allows transfers the storage plate between the plate mounting portion of the plate turntable and a pickup mechanism.   The pick-up mechanism is configured to be able to individually transfer the containers between a storage plate transported from the loading / unloading chamber by the plate transport mechanism and a storage plate transported from a storage rack by the plate transport mechanism. The cryogenic storage system according to claim 1. The low-temperature storage room is kept in a cryogenic environment of −80 ° C. or lower,
The low-temperature storage system according to claim 1, wherein the working chamber is maintained in a low humidity environment.   The plate transport mechanism is configured to be able to transfer and store a storage plate holding a plurality of containers for storing samples to be stored in the low temperature storage chamber from the loading / unloading chamber to the storage rack. The low-temperature storage system according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The low temperature storage chamber is provided below the working chamber;
The pickup mechanism is provided at a position where the low temperature storage chamber does not exist below the work chamber;
The low-temperature storage system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the storage / exiting chamber is provided adjacent to a position of the working chamber where the pickup mechanism is provided.   The cryogenic storage system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the working chamber is maintained in a lower temperature environment than an external environment.

Images