JPS60248171A - Agitator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To stir the whole agitator uniformly without requiring a shaft seal, by revolving and shaking an agitating tank backward and forward and, right and left around one fixed point as a center to carry out agitation. CONSTITUTION:At the lower part of the culture tank 1 the drive shaft to be driven and rotated around a vertical shaft line passing through the center C is set, the crank 6 is attached to the drive shaft 5, and the rod 7 is fixed to the crank end by a spherical joint. When the crank 6 is driven and rotated around the vertical shaft line, the rod 7 and a connecting point at the lower part of the culture tank 1 are circulated around the vertical shaft line, and the culture tank 1 is shaked backward and forward and, left and right around its center.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a stirring device suitable for use as a culturing device for beam actors and living cells, particularly as a culturing device for plant cells.

In reactors and culture devices, reactants or culture fluids are stirred to promote chemical reactions or cell growth, but in many cases, reactors and culture devices can leak gas and cause a fire, or cause environmental pollution. The latter type of culture equipment has an airtight structure to prevent harmful contaminating gases from leaking, and to prevent bacteria from entering the culture tank. For this reason, a shaft sealing device such as a mechanical seal is installed on the bearing part of the drive shaft of the stirring blade, but the shaft sealing device may wear out and become unable to maintain airtightness. There is a risk that the cells will scatter and adhere, which may impair the smooth movement of the stirring blade, and it is not easy to clean to remove the adhered substances.

Stirring using a stirring blade also has the disadvantage that the strength of stirring varies locally, making it impossible to stir the entire product uniformly.

The present invention provides a gyro-type stirring device that performs stirring by rotating and rocking the stirring tank back and forth and left and right around a single point, thereby eliminating the need for a shaft seal and preventing gas leakage or miscellaneous bacteria as described above. The purpose is to eliminate the problem of infiltration and to uniformly stir the entire product.

Although the stirring device of the present invention can be used both as an actor and as a culture device, it is more suitable for use as a culture device. The reason for this will be explained by comparing it with a conventional example.

What is desired for a culture device is not only that the entire device is evenly agitated, but also that special consideration be given to plant cells, which are vulnerable to the impact of agitation, by ensuring that the cells are not damaged by agitation.

Next, what is desired is to prevent precipitation or aggregation of the generated cells, and in order to satisfy these conditions, the levitation force of the cells due to agitation is balanced with the weight of the cells themselves, and the agitation is such that the cells do not fall. It is most desirable that this be done uniformly throughout.

Conventional culture devices that use stirring blades are not suitable for use as plant cell culture devices because strong stirring forces are applied locally, and in terms of cell sedimentation and aggregation, the device is not suitable for use diagonally below the stirring device. The precipitated cells near the bottom of the culture tank tend to aggregate, which is undesirable.

In addition to agitation methods using agitation blades, there are also culture devices that rotate the culture tank in a cylindrical shape to deal with plant cells that are susceptible to the impact of agitation, and those that use the upward force of the air that is blown into the culture solution to maintain the liquid. Methods have been proposed or attempted that generate upward and downward flow on the sides for agitation, but the former method supplies a culture medium containing cells and nutrients to the inside of the culture tank, and A supply/discharge pipe for discharging the culture solution containing chlorine to the outside, a gas supply pipe for supplying gas into the culture tank, a gas discharge pipe for discharging gas to the outside, etc. are passed through the rotating center and the culture tank is rotated around it. Since the shaft is rotated at a constant speed, a shaft sealing device is required to maintain airtightness and liquid tightness in the shaft bearing part, which causes the same problems as mentioned above, and also makes it difficult to stir the whole thing uniformly without any cracks. Insufficient agitation results in uneven stirring, which tends to cause cell aggregation. On the other hand, the latter type does not require a shaft sealing device, but stirring tends to be insufficient, and if the amount of air is increased to achieve sufficient stirring, the force applied to the cells will also increase. This method also has the disadvantage that uniform stirring cannot be achieved throughout the entire product.
Also, as cells multiply, the balance between the levitation blade on the cell and the cell's own weight becomes unbalanced, causing it to fall and settle, but in this case, in order to maintain balance, the amount of air is controlled according to the amount of cell proliferation. This is extremely troublesome and difficult.

In this respect, according to the culture apparatus according to the present invention, it is possible to perform uniform stirring and mild stirring such that the floating blades of the cells and their own weight are balanced.

Next, examples of the present invention will be described.

Each of the illustrated embodiments shows a stirring device used as a culture device, and in the embodiments shown in FIGS. is pivotally supported by an inner frame 2 surrounding the culture tank 1 so as to be able to rotate around an axis passing through the center C, and the inner frame 2 further surrounds the frame and supports the outer frame 4 which is supported by supports 3. The culture tank is pivoted so as to be rotatable around an axis perpendicular to the above-mentioned axis, preferably a horizontal axis, so that the culture tank can swing back and forth and left and right around the above-mentioned center. A drive shaft 5 is provided below the culture tank 1 and is driven to rotate around a vertical axis passing through the center. A rod 7, which projects downward from an appropriately spaced point, is pivoted by a ball joint. When the crank 6 is rotated around the vertical axis,
The connecting point between the rod 7 and the lower side of the culture tank 1 performs a circular motion around the vertical axis, causing the culture tank 1 to swing back and forth and left and right around its center. As a result, the liquid surface 8 in the culture tank moves relative to the inner wall of the culture tank while always keeping it horizontal. For example, during a 180° rotation from the state shown in FIG. 3 to the state shown in FIG. 4, a relative movement from the dashed line to the solid line shown in FIG. 4 is performed. Along with this, the culture solution is stirred by friction with the wall surface. In the figure, 9 is a gas supply pipe with a porous pipe 10 attached to its lower end for supplying gas into the culture solution, and 11 is a gas discharge pipe 12, which has a lower end near the bottom of the culture tank. It extends and supplies a medium containing cells and nutrients, or discharges a culture solution containing products.

The tubes 9, 11 and 12 described above are all inserted into the culture tank 1, and the area around them is made airtight to prevent bacteria from entering. Flexible tubes 13 are respectively connected to the ends protruding from the culture tank so that they do not twist following the rotational rocking motion of the culture tank and are hung while ensuring airtightness.

In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the center of swing of the culture tank can also be shifted to a position shifted from the center of gravity, thereby providing various swinging movements.

An example is shown in FIG.
As a result of the rotation, a swinging and swiveling movement is performed around a swinging center S that is offset from the center of gravity C. In the figure, the position indicated by a dashed line indicates a half turn from the position indicated by a solid line.

The length from the connection point between the crank and the rod to the center of the drive shaft can be determined using a known method, for example, by forming the crank into an arc shape with the center of curvature at the center of oscillation of the culture tank, and using a slider that is slidably attached to the crank. Attach it to the appropriate position on the crank,
Adjustment is possible by connecting the slider and the port 7 with a ball joint, and thereby the amount of rotation and rocking of the culture tank can be adjusted.

Another embodiment, shown in FIG. 6, allows the rod 25 and crank 26 to be rotated in a known manner, for example by slidably fitting the rod into a spherical piece rotatably attached to the crank 26. According to this embodiment, it is not necessary to align the center of swing on the extension of the drive shaft axis as shown in the figure, and the culture tank 27 has a rotating swing different from that of the above embodiment. cause dynamic movement. The diagram shows culture tank 27
The connection point a of the rod 25 is displaced to point b when the rod 25 rotates half a turn, and the culture tank 27 swings around the swing center C at a swing angle α.

In each of the above-mentioned fruit fins, the axis of the drive shaft is a fixed axis, but the drive shaft is rotated by a motor installed on the table, and the table is movable in the horizontal direction. may be allowed to move in parallel. Even if the axis of the drive shaft moves, the culture tank can rotate and oscillate, and the culture tank can be controlled by moving the table to an appropriate position or by applying any regular motion, such as reciprocating or circular motion. The pivoting movement can be adjusted or varied in various ways.

In order to enable the table to be moved in the horizontal direction, a guide means, for example a pantograph arrangement or a fixed rail, pivoted at one end to the table and the other end to a fixed member, supported orthogonally on the fixed rail; It consists of a movable rail that can run in the longitudinal direction of the rail, and a rail mechanism that supports the table on the movable rail so that it can run in the longitudinal direction. Preferably, guiding means are provided which allow the bending and extension of the mechanism to occur or along the length of each rail. °
Movement of the table can be carried out manually or by means of an actuating device, however, if arbitrary regular movements are to be imparted, this can be done by means of an actuating device.

As described above, the stirring device of the present invention does not have a single part of the device protruding into the stirring tank that moves relative to the stirring tank, which requires airtightness, so there is no need to provide a shaft sealing device. Since the agitation tank performs a swinging movement back and forth and left and right around a fixed point, each part of the stirrer moves in the front, back, left and right, and up and down directions, thereby making it possible to uniformly stir the whole thing.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a stirring device according to the present invention, and FIG.
A sectional view when the stirring tank is rotated half a turn along line I-I in the figure, Figures 3 and 4 are schematic diagrams showing the state when the stirring tank is tilted to the right or left, and Figure 5 is a different view. Schematic diagram of an embodiment. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of yet another embodiment. 10 Culture tank 2... Inner frame 4... Outer frame 5 - Drive shaft 6
・・Crank 7・・Rod 9・・Gas supply pipe 11・
・Gas discharge pipe 12...Supply discharge pipe 21...Culture tank 2
2-11 crank 25-rod 260 crank 27
- Culture tank Fig. 1 Fig. 4 Ks3 Fig. 2 Fig. 3 1 8 Figure 5

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A stirring tank 1, 21427 of an appropriate shape, an inner frame 2 surrounding the stirring tank and supporting the stirring tank so as to be rotatable about one axis, and an inner frame surrounding the inner frame. , an outer frame 4 that rotatably supports the inner frame around an axis perpendicular to the axis, and a crank 6.2 connected to a drive shaft 5 and rotationally driven by the drive shaft.
λ26,! : A stirring device (2) having a connecting member 7.25 (!= for connecting the crank and the stirring tank, and in which the stirring tank swings back and forth and left and right about the intersection of the two axes by the rotation of the crank. The length between the connecting point of the crank and the connecting member and the axis of the drive shaft can be adjusted by the adjusting means t.The stirring device (8) according to claim 1, wherein the connecting member has one end fixed to the stirring tank. , and the other end is a rod that is pivotally attached to the crank, and the extension of the rod intersects the extension of the drive shaft axis (4) Patent in which the drive shaft axis is a vertical axis Claim 3
The stirring device (6) according to claim 1, in which the drive shaft of the stirring device (5) is supported by a movable table and is rotationally driven by a drive device installed on the movable table, the stirring tank is a culture tank. The stirring device (γ) described in claim 1 is used to supply the culture tank with a gas supply pipe 9, a gas discharge pipe 11, and a culture medium containing cells and nutrient sources, and to discharge a culture solution containing products to the outside. The agitation device according to claim 6, wherein a supply/discharge pipe for the purpose of mixing is passed through, and a flexible tube 13 is connected to each pipe.