JPH04321500A - Vessel for animal and/or plant under micro-gravitation - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a lid-equipped vessel free from care for preventing soil drop and/or collapse even under the process of placing soil and animal and/or plant and transporting them under a minute gravitation. CONSTITUTION:The lower part of a lid-equipped vessel according to invention is filled with soil 5, in/on which animal and/or plant is placed to be transported under a minute gravitation. Therein a flange 3c to partition the lower space with soil from the upper space is furnished in the vessel body 1 as projecting inward in the horizontal direction, or otherwise a partition wall 4 is furnished in the plumb direction on the inner surface of the vessel body 1 so that the area of the side faces with soil exceeds the area of the oversurface.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a container for placing and transporting soil, animals and plants under microgravity.

0002

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION As the range of human activities extends to outer space, a system that allows humans to be self-sufficient in outer space for a long period of time is needed, and there is an urgent need to develop a closed cycle for human survival. In this closed cycle, in order to provide the food and oxygen that humans need,
In addition to grains such as rice, plants such as lettuce, and strawberries being needed first, animals, such as escargot, are thought to be necessary to supply animal protein, vitamin B2, calcium, and the like. Therefore, in order for humans to carry out long-term activities in outer space, it is necessary to transport these animals and plants, especially small animals and plants, to outer space. On the other hand, there have been reports of attempts to manufacture defect-free crystals by industrially utilizing microgravity environments such as outer space, suborbital flight of aircraft, and free fall in drop towers. There is a growing trend to utilize the environment for experiments involving animals and plants.

[0003] In order for humans to operate in outer space for long periods of time or to utilize the microgravity environment for animals and plants, it is necessary to place soil and the plants and animals in containers and transport them. However, even if the container falls under microgravity, the soil will not fall, so no particular problem will occur. However, if the container falls during the process of reaching the microgravity environment, the soil will fall as well.・It may collapse, hindering the necessary growth of plants and animals, or preventing planned experiments from being carried out. Therefore, even in the process of arranging soil and plants and animals and transporting them under microgravity, soil falls and
There is a need for a container that does not cause collapse, but there are no containers that have been published that make this possible.

0004

[Problem to be solved by the invention] Even in the process of arranging soil, animals and plants and transporting them under microgravity, soil may fall or
In order to avoid collapsing, it is possible to always hold the container horizontally when reaching outer space, an aircraft, a drop tower, etc., but this requires extreme caution at all times and is not practical. Particularly when reaching outer space, a rocket performs attitude control during launch, which inevitably causes the container to tilt, and the possibility of the soil in the container falling and collapsing cannot be ruled out. On the other hand, there are technologies to keep the container horizontal at all times, such as a gyro that uses the inertia of a rotating body, and a suspension support that uses gravity (a technology used in noodle delivery, etc.).
However, the volume and weight increase, and the overall cost of transporting the container to space etc. increases significantly. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a covered container that does not require any effort to prevent the soil from falling or collapsing even during the process of arranging and transporting soil and animals and plants under microgravity.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention provides a structure in which a flange that partitions a lower soil space and an upper space (for example, an air space) projects horizontally inward from the container body, or the area of the side surface of the soil is larger than that of the top surface. The above object is achieved by providing a partition wall in the vertical direction on the inner surface of the container body so as to exceed the area of the container body.

[0006]

[Embodiment] An embodiment of the present invention will be explained based on the drawings. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a first embodiment of the present invention, and this container for animals and plants under microgravity includes a container body 1, a lid 2,
The horizontal partition 3 is made of polypropylene, and the overall dimensions are 74 mm in length and width and 46 mm in height. The horizontal partition 3 installed in the container body 1 has legs 3a hanging downward at the end and arms 3b erected upward, and these legs 3a and arms 3b separate the inner surface of the container body 1 and the lid 2.
It is supported vertically between the lower surface of the Further, a hole 3d is formed in the center portion 3c of the horizontal partition 3, and the center portion 3c is configured to protrude inward in the horizontal direction of the container body 1 as a flange.

[0007] This embodiment is configured as described above.
This container for animals and plants under microgravity is used as follows. That is, soil 5 is filled between the container body 1 and the horizontal partition 3, animals and plants (not shown) are placed in the soil 5, and the container is sealed with the lid 2.

[0008] The experimental results obtained when this container was turned upside down will be explained below. In this experiment, as soil 5,
Using culture soil made from field soil, chaff charcoal and calcium carbonate calcined at 100 degrees Celsius, sterilized water added to make the moisture content 18%.
The height of the legs 3a of the horizontal partition 3 was 15 mm, that is, the culture soil was filled to a thickness of about 15 mm. The packing density of the culture soil was 0.88 Kg/l, and the angle of repose was about 83°. After that, when the diameter D of the hole 3d in the horizontal partition was changed and the container was turned upside down by 180 degrees, when the diameter D was 10 mm, 0.08% of the total culture soil fell, and the remaining culture soil did not fall. Ta. Similarly, when the diameter D was 20 mm, 0.5% fell, when it was 30 mm, 0.9%, when it was 40 mm, 1.3%, and when it was 50 mm, 3.4% fell, and the remaining culture soil did not fall. Furthermore, when the horizontal partition 3 was removed and turned upside down, all of the culture soil fell and collapsed. As a result, it was found that some of the soil 5 near the horizontal partition hole 3d falls and reaches the lid 2 side, but the remaining soil 5 forms a bridge due to the action of the arch and does not fall to the lid 2 side. In other words, this container for animals and plants under microgravity can be handled without paying any attention to the vertical relationship.

Next, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing a second embodiment of the present invention. The container for animals and plants under microgravity of this embodiment is composed of a container body 1, a lid 2, and a vertical partition 4. , both are made of polypropylene, and the overall dimensions are 92 mm vertically.
mm, width 105mm, height 46mm. Container body 1
The vertical partition 4 installed inside is configured by combining a member 4a having a slit in the upper center and a member 4b having a slit in the lower center in a cross shape, and each member 4a,
4b is installed in the container body 1 so that it is positioned diagonally in the plane of the container body 1. Further, each member 4a, 4b of the vertical partition in this embodiment is formed with a portion 4c whose height is reduced so as to be approximately the same as the thickness of the soil 5, so that the object to be transported under microgravity is The structure is such that when an animal such as escargot is used, the animal can come and go over each member 4a, 4b.

When this container was filled with the above-mentioned culture soil to a thickness of about 15 mm and turned upside down, the culture soil did not fall even when tilted up to 135 degrees, but when it exceeded 135 degrees, the culture soil It fell onto the lid 2 side and collapsed. Furthermore, when the vertical partition 4 was removed and the plant was turned upside down, all of the culture soil fell and collapsed when the plant was tilted at an angle of about 80°. The collapse angle increases by installing the vertical partition 4 because
This is thought to be because the soil 5 is held by the shearing force acting between the side surface of the soil 5 and the side surface of the container body 1 or the vertical partition 4.

Then, when calculating the ratio R=S/A of the area S of the side surface to the area A of the top surface of the soil 5, when the vertical partition 4 is not installed, A0=92×105 (mm2), S
0=15×(92+105)×2(mm2), therefore R0
≒0.6, and in the area touching the short side 92 mm of the container body 1 when the vertical partition 4 is attached, A1 = A0/4,
S1=15×(92+(922+1052)1/2),
Therefore, R1≒1.4, and in the area touching the long side 105 mm of the container body 1 when the vertical partition 4 is attached, A2=
A1, S2=15×(105+(922+1052)1
/2), therefore R2≈1.5. When R≒0.6, the collapse angle was small, and when R≒1.4 and R≒1.5, the collapse angle significantly increased. It has been found that the collapse angle of the soil 5 can be increased by providing the vertical partition 4 in the container body 1 so that S exceeds the area A of the top surface. That is, the configuration of this second embodiment also provides a container for animals and plants under microgravity that does not require much attention to the vertical relationship of the container.

[0012] In both of the above embodiments, an example was shown in which culture soil was used as the soil 5, but the type of soil 5 is not particularly limited as long as it can grow animals and plants, and for example, artificial soil may be used. You can also do it.

[0013]

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention, a covered container is provided in which there is no need to take great care to prevent the soil from falling and collapsing even in the process of arranging and transporting soil and animals and plants under microgravity.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1: An exploded perspective view of a first embodiment of the present invention.

[Figure 2] Second
Exploded perspective view of the example

[Explanation of symbols]

1...Container body 2...Lid 3...Horizontal partition
4...Vertical partition 5...Soil

Claims (2)

[Claims] Claim 1: A covered container for filling a lower part with soil, arranging animals and plants in the soil, and transporting the same under microgravity, wherein the flange separating the lower soil space and the upper space is placed horizontally on the container body. A container for animals and plants under microgravity that protrudes inward. 2. A covered container for filling a lower part with soil, placing animals and plants in the soil, and transporting the soil under microgravity, the container body being arranged such that the area of the side surfaces of the soil exceeds the area of the top surface. A container for animals and plants under microgravity with a vertical partition wall on the inner surface.