JP6552112B2 - Small animal breeding equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a rearing device for rearing small animals such as mice used for medical research and the like.

  In general rearing cases, the door must be opened and closed each time the cage is replaced, and the air inside and outside the rearing case is mixed each time, and various bacteria in the outside air intrude into the rearing case, and the inside of the cage is contaminated. There was a problem that there was a risk that things would be released to the outside.

  There is no possibility that the air inside and outside the breeding apparatus will be mixed, and it takes less time and effort, and when the cage is inserted into the rack, a rack opened in the lower part of the rack. There has been proposed a breeding apparatus in which a side air supply port and a cage side air supply port provided in a cage are connected (Patent Document 1).

  According to this device, a barrier can be constructed in units of cages, and there is an advantage that the supply port can be easily connected and opened / closed, but the force applied to the connection between the rack-side supply port and the cage-side supply port is: Since only the pushing force is applied to the cage, the airtightness of the connecting part is not sufficient, and since the exhaust port is open to the room, odors in the cage flow into the room, and supply from the air supply duct stops due to a power failure, etc. Then, there was a risk that indoor bacteria and the like would enter the cage from the exhaust port.

  In addition, in a small animal breeding apparatus provided with a housing for storing a plurality of cages for small animals such as mice, a support is provided on the rear side of the housing, and a substantially U-shaped arm is provided at intervals in the vertical direction of the support. Provided to be slidable in the front-rear direction and provided to be pivotable up and down at the attachment / detachment position slid forward. The U-shaped arms detachably engage and hold the cage flange, and slide to the rear of the arms. There has been proposed a device provided with air supply / exhaust means for ventilating the inside of each cage above the fixed position (Patent Document 2).

  Since this device supplies and exhausts air separately for each cage, it can prevent the outside air and air in each cage and between each cage from being mixed with each other. Since the air supply port of the duct is sealed with the outer periphery covered with a hood cover, outside air does not enter the cage, and the air discharge port of the cage and the exhaust port of the exhaust horizontal duct also have a hood cover on the outer periphery. Since the air in the cage is not covered with the air and leaked to the outside, the air permeability of the cages is kept individually, while the air in the cage 2 and the outside of the air in the cage 2 are exposed to the outside. The effect of being able to prevent the release was achieved.

However, after housing each cage in the housing, the above-mentioned breeding apparatus engages the U-shaped arm with the flange of the cage and turns it in order to connect the cage to the air supply and discharge means provided above it. It was necessary to move the cage upward.
As described above, the conventional breeding apparatus requires two steps to mount the cage, which is troublesome, and the cage moves up and down at the time of loading and unloading. Therefore, it is difficult to provide water supply means to the cage from the outside. Also, when the cage is stored, vibration and noise are generated due to the sliding of the bottom surface, which causes stress on small animals in the cage.

  In order to solve such problems, the air supply / exhaust in which the opening / closing of the air supply / exhaust hood with retractable bellows is provided in the cage lid by the operation of inserting the cage into the frame of the breeding device instead of moving the cage up and down. There has been proposed a small animal breeding apparatus that is brought into close contact with the mouth (Patent Document 3).

However, in this breeding apparatus, the opening of the telescopic bellows-equipped air supply and exhaust hood has to be installed above the cage, which requires a space for it, and in order to form a reliable security state, the bellows is required. It had to be brought into close contact with the air outlet of the cage lid against the contraction force of the

Utility model registration No. 2567121 Patent No. 3769174 Japanese Patent No. 4933310

  The present invention solves the problems of the conventional small animal breeding device, which is efficient in the storage space of the cage, easy to put in and out of the cage, and is free from vibration and noise given to the cage when mounted on the device. An object of the present invention is to provide a small animal breeding device that is easy to ventilate the cage and attach the water supply means to the cage.

The present inventors fix the air supply hood and the exhaust hood to the frame rotatably supported by the rack, and communicate with the air supply / exhaust port opened in the lid of the rearing cage, thereby reducing the space. Thus, the inventors came up with the idea that the air supply / exhaust duct and the inside of the cage can be reliably communicated with each other.

Embodiments of the present invention are as follows.
(1) A rack capable of storing a plurality of breeding cages,
An air supply hood and an exhaust hood fixed to a frame body rotatably supported by the rack;
Bellows connecting the air supply duct and the air supply hood, the exhaust hood and the exhaust duct,
In a breeding apparatus for small animals comprising a breeding cage comprising a lid and a container body,
When the rearing cage is inserted into the rack of the rearing apparatus, the lid contacts with a part of the frame to move the frame upward, and the rearing cage is inserted to a predetermined position in the rack. When the frame body is partially fitted, the frame body is moved downward, the air supply hood is formed in the air supply port formed in the lid body, and the exhaust hood is formed in the lid body. Recesses that are joined to the air supply / exhaust ports are formed,
Means for moving the frame upward to disengage the part of the frame from the recess formed in the cage lid, and the relationship between the part of the frame and the recess formed in the cage lid An urging means for moving the breeding cage to the outside of the rack when the joint is removed;
A small animal breeding apparatus comprising:
(2) The small animal breeding apparatus according to (1), wherein a part of the frame in contact with the slope of the lid is a rotating roller having a rotating shaft fixed to the frame.
(3) The breeding apparatus for small animals according to (1) or (2), wherein the frame rotatably supported by the rack is biased to pivot downward.

  The rearing cage of the present invention is made of a transparent plastic which can be seen inside and which can be sterilized by high temperature and which is excellent in heat resistance and chemical resistance.

The shape of the supply and exhaust hood opening of the present invention is not limited, the supply and exhaust port formed in the lid of the breeding cage with the same shape, the edge of the supply and exhaust vent openings and / or the lid of the supply and exhaust hoods Equipped with an elastic gasket to maintain airtightness between the air supply / exhaust hood and the air supply / exhaust port of the cage.

The air supply and exhaust duct is attached to the rack of the present invention and has an opening for communicating with each breeding cage, but the opening is preferably provided for each storage section of the breeding cage.

The slopes and recesses provided on the lid of the rearing cage can be moved up and down the frame to which the air supply and exhaust hood is fixed, regardless of the installation position, but the lid is used to move the frame up and down reliably and stably. It is preferable to provide at both ends of the body and to be in contact with both ends of the frame.

  The means for releasing the engagement between a part of the frame and the recess formed in the cage lid may be provided on the rearing cage side or on the rack side, but the rearing cage needs to be cleaned and sterilized. Therefore, it is preferably provided on the rack side.

The air supply hood and the exhaust hood are fixed to the frame rotatably supported by the rack, and are communicated with the air supply and exhaust ports opened in the lid of the rearing cage, so the air supply and exhaust duct and the cage can be performed in a small space. The interior can be reliably communicated, and when the breeding cage is inserted to a predetermined position in the rack, a part of the frame is fitted, so that the breeding cage is held in the predetermined position in the rack In addition, when the frame is moved upward and the engagement between a part of the frame and the recess formed in the cage lid is released, the feeding cage is pushed out of the rack by the biasing means. This facilitates removal of the rearing cage from the rack and prevents reengagement with a part of the frame and the recess formed in the cage lid.

In addition, air tightness can be reliably maintained in the cage and the air supply / exhaust duct even if the air supply / exhaust opening is relatively large, so the air flow speed in the cage can be suppressed to a low level, and the stress given to the breeding small animals can be reduced. Can do.

It is a perspective view of the rack which accommodates a breeding cage. It is a front side view of a rack rail. It is a side view of the breeding cage of the present invention. It is a top view of the cover body of the breeding cage provided with the air supply / exhaust port. It is a figure which shows the process of accommodating a breeding cage in a rack. It is a figure which shows the process of accommodating a breeding cage in a rack. It is a figure which shows the process of accommodating a breeding cage in a rack. It is an enlarged view of the contact part of the air supply / exhaust port provided in the cover body of the breeding cage and the air supply / exhaust hood.

The breeding apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a view showing a part of a rack 1 for storing breeding cages, and the storage space of the breeding cage is divided by a plurality of columns 2 on both sides.

  Rack rails 3 are fixed to the pillars 2 on both sides of the space in which the breeding cage of the rack 1 is accommodated, and the rack rail 3 has a groove 9 that engages with the flange 11 of the breeding cage as shown in FIG. And the other end of the balance link 5 connected to the bearing 4 is connected to a frame body 6 to which an air supply hood 7 and an exhaust hood 8 are fixed. The roller 22 is pivotally supported.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the breeding cage 10, which includes a lid 12 and a container body 13, both of which are joined together with a gas tightness maintained via a gasket (not shown).
A flange 11 that engages with a groove portion 9 formed in the rack rail 3 is formed at a joint portion between the two.

The air supply and exhaust hoods 7 and 8 are connected to air supply and exhaust ducts 25 and 26 respectively fixed to the back of the rack 1 via bellows 23 and 24.
The lid 12 of the rearing cage 10 contacts the rotating roller 22 pivotally supported by the frame 6 and moves the frame upward when the rearing cage is moved in a direction in which it can be pushed into the rack, and When the breeding cage 11 is moved to a predetermined position in the rack, a recess 21 is formed to be fitted to the rotating roller 22. Reference numeral 16 denotes a rearing cage release means mounted on the rack side, which comprises a restoring spring 19 and a hook 27 connected thereto.

Figure 4 is a plan view of the breeding cage 10, supply and exhaust ports 28, 29 to be connected to the supply and exhaust hoods 7, 8 are formed. The hooks 27 of the rearing cage releasing means 16 mounted on the rack side are engaged with the front end side of the rearing cage 10, and when the rearing cage 10 is moved to a predetermined position on the rack, the hooks 27 also move. Since the restoring spring 19 is compressed, the hook 17 that locks the end side surface of the breeding cage 11 urges the breeding cage 10 in a direction to jump out of the rack.

  5-7 shows the process of storing a breeding cage in a rack.

FIG. 5 shows the start of housing the breeding cage 10 in the rack 1. As shown in the figure, initially, the rotating roller 22 is not in contact with the inclined surface 20 formed on the breeding cage lid 12. When the rearing cage is further pushed in, the rotating roller 22 contacts the slope 20 of the lid to move the frame 6 to which the air supply and exhaust hoods 7 and 8 are fixed. Avoid contact with the lid.

  FIG. 6 further shows that the breeding cage 10 is pushed in, and as the rotating roller 22 abuts on the slope 20 and is pushed up, the frame 6 also moves upward, and the hook 27 on the tip side surface of the breeding cage. Abut and compress the restoring spring 19.

  When the breeding cage 10 is pushed to a predetermined position, as shown in FIG. 7, the rotating roller 22 is fitted into a recess 21 formed continuously with the slope 20 formed on the lid, and the hook 27 Due to the movement, the restoring spring 19 is compressed as much as possible.

In this state, since the rotating roller 22 is firmly fitted in the recess 21, the feeding cage 11 is fixed at a predetermined position, and the air supply and exhaust fixed to the frame 6 along with the downward movement of the rotating roller 22. The hoods 7 and 8 also move downward, and are connected to the air supply and exhaust ports 28 and 29 formed on the lid of the breeding cage. At this time, the restoring spring 18 included in the lock lever lot 15, which will be described later, urges the lot in the shrinking direction, so the air tightness between the air feeding and discharging hood 7, 8 and the air feeding and discharging port of the cage lid is maintained. Be drunk.

FIG. 7 shows an operation for removing the breeding cage 10 from the rack.
In order to take out the breeding cage from the rack, the lock lever lot 15 connected to the tip of the discharge lever 14 and the precursor frame 6 by pushing the discharge lever 14 slidably attached to the rack rail 3 is inserted. The horizontal movement of the discharge lever 14 is converted into the vertical movement to move the frame 6 upward.

  When the engagement between the rotating roller 22 and the lid recess 21 is released due to the rising of the frame 6, the breeding cage 10 jumps out of the rack by the biasing force of the restoration hook 27, so the breeding cage 10 can be easily removed from the rack Can be taken out. At this time, the pin 32 provided in the lock lever lot 15 abuts the upper end portion of the long hole 33 provided in the frame body 6 and keeps the frame body 6 almost horizontal, so when the breeding cage 10 moves, Contact with the lid 12 is avoided.

  A restoring spring 17 is attached to the discharge lever 14, and the discharge lever 14 is set so as to return to its original position. However, as described above, the rearing cage 10 is constantly urged toward the outside of the rack by the hook 27. Since the rearing cage 10 jumps out of the rack at the same time that the rotation roller 22 and the lid recess 21 are disengaged, the rotation roller 22 remains in the lid recess even when the discharge lever 14 returns to the original position. It will not engage with 21 again.

In addition, a restoring spring 18 is attached to the lock lever lot 15 so as not to expand and contract below a predetermined length and to be expandable and contract when the length exceeds a predetermined length.
Therefore, even if the frame 6 moves upward at the time of storing the breeding cage, the lock lever lot 15 extends and follows, so that the breeding cage can be smoothly stored, and furthermore, it does not expand or contract below a predetermined length. The upward movement of the frame 6 by the pushing of the discharge lever 14 can be reliably performed.
If the lock lever lot 15 is slightly extended when the rotating roller 22 is engaged with the recess 21, the supply / exhaust hoods 7, 8 are moved by the restoring force of the restoring spring 18. Since it presses against 28 and 29, both are sealed reliably.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of a contact portion between the air supply / exhaust openings 28 and 29 and the air supply / exhaust hoods 7 and 8 provided on the lid of the breeding cage, and an imaginary line indicates a state when the breeding cage is discharged.

The air supply and exhaust openings 28, 29 are constituted by a grid-like member having a large number of openings, and these openings are covered with the filters 30, 31 fixed by the fixtures 36 to always prevent bacteria from invading from the outside air. It is out.

When housing the breeding cages 10 in the rack 1, but the air supply and exhaust openings 28 and 29 in contact with the supply and exhaust hoods 7, 8, O-ring 35 is the air supply and exhaust hood this time attached to the periphery of the supply and exhaust openings It is pressed against the gasket attached to the peripheral edge of the to ensure airtightness.

If the rearing cage 10 is not pushed into place, the air supply and exhaust openings 28, 29 do not completely contact the air supply and exhaust hoods 7, 8 and the ventilation in the rearing cage is incomplete or not at all. End up.
Order to prevent such an accident, rearing cages 10 in the rack 1 is provided with means for detecting that it has been housed in a predetermined position, the operator, supply and exhaust openings 28 and 29 supply and exhaust hoods 7,8 It is desirable to display whether or not it has completely contacted.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Rack 2 for storing a rearing cage 2 pillars constituting rack 3 rack rail 4 bearing 5 balance link 6 frame 7 air supply hood 8 exhaust hood 9 groove 10 rearing cage 11 flange 12 lid 13 container body 14 discharge lever 15 lock Lever lot 16 cage releasing means 17 to 19 restoring spring 20 slope 21 recess 22 rotating roller 23, 24 bellows 25, 26 air supply and discharge duct 27 release hook 28 air supply opening 29 exhaust opening 30, 31 filter 32 pin 33 long hole 34 Gasket 35 O-ring 36 Fixing tool

Claims (3)

Rack that can store multiple breeding cages,
An air supply hood and an exhaust hood fixed to a frame body rotatably supported by the rack;
The air supply duct and the air supply hood, the exhaust hood and the exhaust duct, respectively connected bellows,
In a breeding apparatus for small animals including a breeding cage comprising a lid and a container body,
When the rearing cage is inserted into the rack of the rearing apparatus, the lid contacts with a part of the frame to move the frame upward, and the rearing cage is inserted to a predetermined position in the rack. When the frame body is partially fitted, the frame body is moved downward, the air supply hood is formed in the air supply port formed in the lid body, and the exhaust hood is formed in the lid body. Recesses that are joined to the exhaust ports respectively formed are formed,
Means for moving the frame upward to disengage the part of the frame from the recess formed in the cage lid, and the relationship between the part of the frame and the recess formed in the cage lid An urging means for moving the breeding cage to the outside of the rack when the joint is removed;
A small animal breeding apparatus comprising:   The breeding apparatus for small animals according to claim 1, wherein a part of the frame in contact with the slope of the lid is a rotating roller having a rotating shaft fixed to the frame. 3. The small animal breeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the frame rotatably supported by the rack is biased to pivot downward.

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