JPS6126478B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an initial gas replacement method for a box with a non-external gas atmosphere, particularly an initial gas replacement method for an airtight box that is capable of replacing internal air with a non-external gas atmosphere and is placed in the gas atmosphere. Regarding.

Conventionally, such a non-external gas atmosphere box is used for sample processing, for example, a culture test in an atmosphere of the gas, and it is initially necessary to replace the air in the box with the required gas. Conventionally,
To do this, the method relies on allowing the required gas to flow directly into the box, thereby expelling the internal air to the outside, but the initial gas replacement is not effective and takes a long time to complete. It took a long time, and there was also considerable loss of gas. Particularly in the case of expensive gas, the initial cost is large, which poses a problem.

Furthermore, in order to improve the efficiency of air removal during the process of evacuation of air inside the box, boxes with a negative pressure resistant structure have been known so that the inside of the box can be evacuated, but this is extremely expensive and After the initial gas replacement is completed, the negative pressure resistant structure is no longer necessary during normal use, and there is a disadvantage of excessive quality.

Therefore, the present invention provides an initial gas replacement method for a non-external gas atmosphere box, which eliminates the drawbacks of the prior art described above and allows the initial gas replacement to be performed simply, efficiently, in a short time, without loss of gas, and reliably. It is intended to.

The initial gas replacement method for a non-external gas atmosphere box of the present invention is an initial gas replacement method for an airtight box that can replace the internal air with a non-external gas atmosphere and is placed in the gas atmosphere, and when inflated, the box simply A flexible and closed airtight bag having a size and shape that substantially fills the inner space of the box in one body or in a plurality of pieces is placed in the box, and the airtight bag is injected into the box by injecting outside air. It is characterized by inflating the box and expelling the air inside the box to the outside, then injecting the required gas into the box, expelling the outside air in the airtight bag inside the box outside the box, and deflating the airtight bag. There is.

According to the present invention, a closed airtight bag is placed inside the box, and the airtight bag is inflated within the box by injecting outside air to expel the air inside the box to the outside. This will be replaced with outside air enclosed in the inflated airtight bag. Therefore, by injecting the required gas into the box, expelling the outside air in the airtight bag inside the box to the outside of the box, and contracting the airtight bag, the injected gas is accompanied by the air inside the box being expelled. There is no loss due to leakage to the outside, and gas replacement can be achieved simply, efficiently, and in a short time without evacuating the inside of the box and without making the box resistant to negative pressure. Furthermore, since the airtight bag is flexible and has such a size and shape that when inflated, it substantially fills the interior space of the box either as a single unit or in a plurality of units, it guarantees that the gas in the box can be replaced reliably.

In the present invention, the air sealed in the airtight bag inside the box can be expelled from the box by injecting the required gas into the box using a box glove or the like.

In the present invention, after the airtight bag is used, it may be folded and left in the box, or if the box has an entry box, it may be taken out of the box. The sample may be taken out in the same manner as in the case of taking out a sample from a conventional box with an entry box. That is, first, the air in the entry box is replaced with the same gas as the non-external gas atmosphere inside the box, the inner door separating the box and the entry box is opened, the airtight bag is transferred to the entry box, and the inner door is closed. After isolating the inside of the entry box, if necessary, the gas inside the entry box can be replaced with air and taken out to the outside. In this case, since the airtight bag is flexible, it can be folded and easily transferred from the box to the entry box.

A multi-piece airtight bag is particularly suitable when a large structure is installed inside the box.

Embodiments of the method of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In the figure, 1 indicates a closed airtight bag, and the airtight bag 1
is flexible and has a size and shape that substantially fills the interior space of the non-external gas atmosphere box 2 when expanded. Also, the airtight bag 1 has an outside air inlet 3
It is equipped with In the illustrated case, the airtight bag 1 is in the form of a single body, but it may be in the form of a plurality of bags. In the latter case, each airtight bag is preferably provided with a gas inlet.

A small chamber 4 as an entry box is connected to the box 2 in an airtight manner at one end thereof, and an inner door (not shown) is interposed between the box 2 and the small chamber 4 to isolate them in an airtight manner. ing. The small chamber 4 has an outer door 5 that isolates the inside from outside air. When the inner door separating the box 2 and the small chamber 4 is opened, the box 2 and the small chamber 4 communicate with each other. Reference numeral 6 denotes airtight gloves for performing necessary operations inside the box 2 while being isolated from the outside air. Reference numeral 7 indicates a transparent front plate of the box 2, and reference numeral 8 indicates a structure inside the box 2.

The airtight bag 1 is folded into a small size and placed into the box 2 through the small chamber 4, and the air inlet 3 of the airtight bag 1 is connected to an external air supply source, such as an air pump (not shown). This connection can be made, for example, by using the existing gas injection replenishment port (not shown) in the box 2 for negative pressure inside the box 2, and connecting the external fresh air supply pipe and the fresh air inlet 3 of the airtight bag 1 with a hose (not shown). or if the airtight glove 6 of the front plate 7 of the box 2 is easily removable at its joint (attachment flange), the connection method is the same as above through the opening created by removing the glove 6. This can be done by connecting a hose.

Next, outside air is injected into the airtight bag 1 to inflate it. The outside air is injected until the expansion of the airtight bag 1 substantially fills the interior space of the box 2 with the expansion. As the airtight bag 1 expands due to the injection of outside air, the air inside the box 2 is expelled to the outside.

After filling the airtight bag 1 with outside air, all the openings of the box 2 are closed to ensure airtightness of the box 2, and after opening the inside of the airtight bag 1 to the atmosphere, the required gas is introduced into the box 2. From a supply source, such as a gas cylinder (not shown) to a supply port (not shown)
The outside air of the airtight bag 1 inside the box 2 is expelled to the outside of the box 2, and the airtight bag 1 is contracted.

After filling box 2 with gas, box 2
Fold the airtight bag 1 by operating the airtight gloves 6 provided in the box and leave it in the box 2, or use the same method as taking out the sample through the small chamber 4.
That is, take it out according to the usual method.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, but can also be applied to a box without a small chamber 4 as an entry box. In this case, the door (not shown) provided in the box is opened, The airtight bag 1 may be placed inside, and after use, it may be folded and left in the box.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of an airtight bag used in the method of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view of a non-external gas atmosphere box, and FIG. 3 is a side view thereof. 1 is an airtight bag, 2 is a non-external gas atmosphere box, 3 is an outside air inlet, and 4 is a small chamber of the box.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An initial gas replacement method for an airtight box that is capable of replacing the internal air with a non-external gas and is placed in an atmosphere of said gas, in which, when expanded, a single box or a collection of multiple boxes fills the inner space of the box. A flexible and closed airtight bag having a size and shape to be filled is placed in the box, and the airtight bag is inflated within the box by injecting outside air to expel the air inside the box to the outside. An initial gas replacement method for a non-external gas atmosphere box, which comprises injecting a required gas into the box, expelling outside air in an airtight bag inside the box to the outside of the box, and contracting the airtight bag.