KR101795309B1 - Starter culture incubator with the sterilization mean - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an incubator for starter culture solutions having a sterilization unit. More specifically, the present invention relates to an incubator for starter culture solutions having a sterilization unit, which performs sterilizing functions in the incubator without involvement of high temperature, high pressure, and sterilizing facilities, has a simple structure, and can be widely used in mushroom farms with a little increase in production costs. In addition, the incubator of the present invention can efficiently prevent bacterial coagulation taking place while culturing starters.

Description

[0001] The present invention relates to an incubator for sterilization with a sterilization means,

The present invention relates to an incubator for a culture medium of a seed culture provided with a sterilizing means, and more particularly, to an incubator capable of sterilizing the culture medium itself without a high-temperature and high-pressure sterilization facility, has a simple structure, , And relates to an incubator for a culture medium of a seed culture, which comprises sterilizing means capable of effectively preventing bacterial accumulation occurring during seed culture.

Generally, in the artificial cultivation of mushrooms, mycelium mycelium is used to grow mushroom fruiting bodies. The seeds are the same as the seeds of plants, and the secondary strains of the mushrooms are cultured in a liquid medium made of a solid medium made of sawdust or wood chips, or soybean meal residue, to facilitate handling. These seedlings are inoculated into a medium for growing mushroom fruit bodies, and the mushrooms are harvested after the cultivation process, generation process, and growing process.

In order to produce the seed culture, there are two methods, solid culture and liquid culture. So far, solid culture methods have been generally used.

However, since the solid culture method uses a large number of culture bottles, it takes a lot of space and is highly susceptible to contamination during culture. In fact, there is a problem in that it can not be confirmed whether or not the seeds are contaminated without confirming by inoculating the seedlings into a liquid culture dish . In addition, the solid culture is difficult to administer a certain amount in the inoculation work for cultivation of mushroom fruiting body, and it is very difficult to control the administration environment and thus the contamination possibility is very high. When the seeds are contaminated, losses are incurred in growing the fruiting bodies.

On the other hand, liquid culture produces liquid seeds from preserved strains, and the liquid seeds are pre-cultured and cultured to produce liquid seeds in large quantities. The present cultivation is carried out in a predetermined container.

As shown in Fig. 3, the container includes a container body 11, a blowing mechanism 12 for supplying air to the container body 11, and air and / or water vapor inside the container body 11 to the outside An exhaust pipe 13 for exhausting the exhaust gas, and a filter 14 provided in the exhaust pipe 12. The container body 11 has an internal capacity of approximately 1 to 50 liters. The filter 14 purifies the air supplied to the container body 11 through the air supply pipe 12.

The container 10 is heat sterilized to sterilize the culture medium contained therein. When the internal volume of the container body 11 is less than 50 liters, the above-described heat sterilization process is usually carried out in a small-sized autoclave (not shown) having a size of about 100 to 200 liters. In a small pressure steam sterilizer at 121 ° C and 1.5 atm for 20 to 30 minutes. When the container 10 is heated in the miniature pressurized steam sterilizer, the interior of the container body 11 becomes a high-temperature and high-pressure state due to water vapor, and air and / or steam in the container body 11 flows through the exhaust pipe 13 And is discharged to the outside. At this time, when the culture liquid is discharged (backward flow) to the outside through the air supply pipe 12, the filter 14 is contaminated. Therefore, the air supply pipe 12 is closed using a clamp 15 or the like. Although the filtrate can be prevented from flowing back to the feed pipe 12 when the feed pipe 12 is closed, the problem that the filter 14 can not be sterilized due to the water vapor not passing through the feed pipe 12 have.

In order to sterilize the filter 14, there is a method in which heat sterilization is performed in a state in which the culture liquid is not received, and then sterilization is performed while the culture liquid is received. However, this method is inconvenient because it requires two sterilization cycles.

Since the exhaust pipe 13 is opened in the heating and sterilizing process, external air is introduced into the interior of the container body 11 through the exhaust pipe 13 during the cooling process of the container 10 after the heat sterilization process . When the outside air flows into the container body 11, the culture liquid is contaminated.

In order to solve such a problem, Japanese Patent Application No. 10-1135052 discloses, as shown in Fig. 4, a tank body; A transferring mechanism for supplying external air to the interior of the tank body; An exhaust pipe for discharging the air introduced into the tank body to the outside through an exhaust port; And a wastewater pipe for selectively communicating the air supply pipe and the exhaust pipe by using a bypass valve. In the process for heating and sterilizing the culture liquid contained in the tank body, air or water vapor in the tank body flows from the inside of the tank body through the exhaust pipe The air supply pipe is connected to the air supply source, and the air supply pipe is connected to the air supply source, and the air supply pipe is connected to the air supply pipe, And an air filter for purifying the air supplied from the outside.

However, in order to perform the heat sterilization process, the existing incubator including the above-mentioned patent must be put into a pressurized steam sterilizer to sterilize the whole body together with the culture liquid. For this purpose, the stirring wing and the motor should be disassembled to prevent thermal damage of the motor in the tank body, the tank body must be moved into the pressurized steam sterilizer by the user, the sterilized gas must be drawn out to the outside of the pressurized steam sterilizer, So that it is necessary to cool it. Particularly, there is a risk of safety accidents such as burns during transportation of sterilized high-temperature and high-weight tank bodies.

Therefore, it is necessary to develop an incubator for culture medium of seed culture which can be sterilized by the incubator itself without a high-temperature and high-pressure sterilization facility such as a pressurized steam sterilizer and can be widely used in a mushroom cultivation farm, to be.

Korean Patent No. 10-1135052

Disclosure of Invention Technical Problem [8] Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a mushroom cultivation farm which can sterilize the cultivator itself without a high temperature and high pressure sterilization facility, And to provide an incubator for a culture medium of a seed culture, which is equipped with a sterilizing means that can be widely used and can effectively prevent the accumulation of bacteria occurring during seed culture.

The problems to be solved by the present invention are not limited to those mentioned above, and other solutions not mentioned can be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

In order to achieve the above object, an incubator for a culture medium of a seed culture provided with a sterilizing means according to the present invention comprises a tank body for containing a culture liquid; A tune body for supplying outside air into the tank body; An exhaust pipe for discharging the air inside the tank body to the outside; A seed injection tube for injecting a liquid seed into the tank main body; Sterilizing means for heating and sterilizing the culture liquid contained in the tank main body; A cooling water step for cooling the heated culture liquid during the sterilization process; And agitation means for preventing bacterial aggregation during the cultivation of the seed bacterium.

In the incubator for the culture medium of the seed culture provided with the sterilizing means according to the present invention, the sterilizing means is a bar or a plate-shaped electric heater bar provided on the bottom of the tank main body, Is a thermoelectric cooling element that is installed in the heat exchanger.

In the incubator for a culture medium for a seed culture provided with the sterilizing means according to the present invention, the composite module further comprises an outer chamber formed on an outer circumferential surface of the tank body, and sterilizing means and cooling means are disposed together in the outer chamber; Wherein the composite module includes a fixing member formed with a pair of grooves and spirally wound on the outer circumferential surface of the tank body, a heating tube through which the heated fluid is circulated as the sterilizing means, and cold water is circulated as the cooling means Wherein the heating tube and the cooling tube are inserted into the pair of grooves, respectively, and a space between the outer chamber and the complex module is filled with a heat insulating material.

Further, in the incubator for the culture medium of the seed culture provided with the sterilizing means according to the present invention, the stirring means includes a rotating shaft penetrating in the lateral direction from outside the outside of the tank body, a rotating body coupled to the inside end of the rotating shaft, And a motor coupled to an outer end of the motor.

In addition, in the incubator for the culture medium of a seed culture provided with the sterilizing means according to the present invention, the rotating body is characterized by a plurality of flesh extending in a radial direction from the rotation axis and having a convex curve shape with respect to the rotation axis.

According to the incubator for the culture medium of the seed culture provided with the sterilizing means according to the present invention, sterilization can be carried out in the incubator itself without the high temperature and high pressure sterilization facility, and it can be widely used in the mushroom cultivation farm since the structure is simple, , It is possible to effectively prevent the accumulation of bacteria occurring during cultivation of the seed culture.

The effects of the present invention are not limited to those mentioned above, and other solutions not mentioned may be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of an incubator for a culture medium of a seed culture provided with a sterilizing means according to the present invention.
Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing another embodiment in which a composite module is installed in a tank body, corresponding to Fig. 1. Fig.
3 is a view showing a liquid seed culture process according to the prior art.
4 is a view showing a conventional incubator.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the following description of the present invention, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may make the subject matter of the present invention rather unclear. In addition, the terms described below are defined in consideration of the functions of the present invention, and these may vary depending on the intention of the user, the operator, or the precedent. Therefore, the definition should be based on the contents throughout this specification. In the description of the present invention, the same or similar reference numerals are given to the same or similar components, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of an incubator for a culture medium of a seed culture provided with a sterilizing means according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, an incubator 100 for a culture medium for a seed culture provided with a sterilizing means according to the present invention is characterized in that a sterilizing device is provided in an incubator in order to eliminate the inconvenience of a conventional incubator in a high- And includes a tank main body 110, a feeding tube 111, an exhaust tube 112, a seed blowing tube 113, a sterilizing means, and a cooling means. The seed bacterium of the present invention can be exemplified by a mushroom seed bacterium.

Specifically, the incubator 100 for the culture medium of the seed culture provided with the sterilizing means according to the present invention comprises a tank main body 110 for containing the culture medium A, An exhaust pipe 112 for discharging the air inside the tank body 110 to the outside, a seed infusion tube 113 for injecting liquid germs into the tank body 110, A sterilization means for heating and sterilizing the culture solution contained in the culture medium 110, a cooling water stage for cooling the culture medium (A) heated in the sterilization process, and agitation means for preventing bacterial accumulation during cultivation of the seed culture.

A lid 114 is formed to seal the upper opening of the tank body 110. A wheel 115 is installed at a lower portion of the tank body 110 to provide convenience of movement. Can be installed.

A seed infusion tube 113 is formed on the upper side of the tank main body 110 so as to inject liquid seeds into the interior of the tank main body 110 and a seeding inoculation tube 119 is provided on the lower side of the tank main body 110, .

The air supply pipe 111 and the exhaust pipe 112 serve to create an environment in which the seed can be cultured in the tank main body 110. The air supply pipe 111 is provided with a HEPA filter To the tank main body 110. The exhaust pipe 112 discharges air containing a large amount of carbon dioxide generated by the respiration of the seed bacterium to the outside.

Such a feeding tube 111 and the exhaust tube 112 are well known in the art of the incubator as well as the Korean Registered Patent No. 10-1135052 (prior art 1), and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The sterilizing means of the present invention is intended to solve the problem that occurs when the incubator is moved by sterilizing the high-pressure steam sterilizing chamber as in the prior art 1, thereby solving the inconvenience of the process of moving and withdrawing the incubator into a separate high pressure steam sterilizing chamber, It saves the cost of installing a high-pressure steam sterilization chamber and disinfects a large number of incubators individually, thus making the sterilization process quick and immediate.

Specifically, the sterilizing means may be a bar or a plate-shaped electric heater 120 installed on the bottom of the tank body 110.

The electric heater 120 may be a commercially available heater rod or the like, but it is preferable to coat the electric heater 120 with a material that is not corroded, does not react with seed bacteria or a culture solution at all, and is not deformed by heat.

For example, the outer coating 121 is preferably formed by depositing titanium on the surface of the heater rod.

It is preferable that the titanium deposition method is applied to a stirring means to be described later, specifically to a configuration in which it is in contact with a culture liquid such as a rotating shaft and a rotating body.

The cooling means may be a thermoelectric cooling element 125 installed on the bottom or side surface of the tank body 110. Since the thermoelectric cooling element 125 corresponds to a well-known constitution, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

2, an external chamber 130 is formed on the outer circumferential surface of the tank body 110, and the external chamber 130 is provided with a sterilizing unit and a cooling unit The module 150 may be installed.

The outer chamber 130 may be made of a metal or a heat-resistant plastic material.

The outer chamber 130 and the composite module 150 can be installed in an existing seed culture incubator.

Specifically, the composite module 150 includes a fixing member 151 formed with a pair of grooves 153 and spirally wound on the outer circumferential surface of the tank body 110, a heating member 151 for circulating heated fluid A pipe 155 and a cooling pipe 157 through which cold water is circulated as the cooling means.

Since the fluid circulating through the heating pipe 155 can not be heated to 121 ° C, which is the temperature at which the culture liquid is sterilized, by using water having a boiling point of 100 ° C, there is no particular limit to the kind of fluid (oil) none.

here. The heating pipe 155 and the cooling pipe 157 are inserted into the pair of grooves 153, respectively.

A heat insulating material 131 is filled between the outer chamber 130 and the composite module 150 to efficiently transfer heat to the tank body 110 and the culture liquid A while minimizing heat loss.

Fluid or cold water may be introduced into one end of each of the heating pipe 155 and the cooling pipe 157, discharged from the other end thereof, and circulated by a circulation pump (not shown).

In addition, although the cooling jacket corresponding to the cooling tube has been disclosed in the above-mentioned prior patent 1, since the construction for the cooling jacket corresponding to the cooling tube is not disclosed at all in the same manner as the present invention, the respective incubators are heated and sterilized in the sterilization process, And there is still the inconvenience that the cooling jacket must be driven again. On the contrary, the present invention has an advantage that sterilization can be easily performed by heating the electric heater described above together with the heating tube or the heating tube provided in the composite module at the same time.

The agitating means of the present invention is preferably configured to simultaneously perform the role of agitating the culture liquid and the function of preventing the accumulation of bacteria that occurs during the seed culture.

The stirring means includes a rotating shaft 170 penetrating in the lateral direction outside the tank body 110, a rotating body 171 coupled to an inner end of the rotating shaft 170, And a motor 177 coupled to the stage.

Although the prior art 1 has the configuration of a stirring blade and a motor, since the steam is discharged from the outside of the incubator during the sterilization process and the temperature is high, the motor and the like must be disassembled to prevent damage to the motor. In the present invention, It is not sterilized in a high-temperature high-pressure steam disinfection chamber, and there is an advantage that a motor and the like are not required to be separated.

The rotating body 171 includes a plurality of ribs 175 extending radially from the rotating shaft 170 and having a convex curved shape with respect to the rotating shaft 170. The overall shape of the rotating body 171 is an elliptical shape So that it is possible to effectively prevent the aggregation phenomenon.

It is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the form set forth in the foregoing description. Accordingly, the true scope of the present invention should be determined by the technical idea of the appended claims. It is also to be understood that the invention is to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

100: incubator 110: tank body
111: transmission organ 112: exhaust pipe
113: seed infusion tube 114: cover
115: wheel 116: inspection window
120: electric heater 121: outer coating
125: thermoelectric cooling element 130: outer chamber
131: Insulation material 150: Composite module
151: fixing member 153: groove
155: Heating tube 157: Cooling tube
170: rotating shaft 171: rotating body
175: Stall 177: Motor
A: Culture medium

Claims (8)

A tank main body for containing the culture liquid;
A tune body for supplying outside air into the tank body;
An exhaust pipe for discharging the air inside the tank body to the outside;
A seed injection tube for injecting a liquid seed into the tank main body;
Sterilizing means for heating and sterilizing the culture liquid contained in the tank main body;
A cooling water step for cooling the heated culture liquid during the sterilization process;
Agitation means for preventing bacterial aggregation during cultivation of the seed bacterium;
And an outer chamber formed on the outer circumferential surface of the tank body,
A composite module in which sterilizing means and cooling means are disposed together in the outer chamber,
In the composite module,
A fixing member which is formed with a pair of grooves and spirally wound on an outer circumferential surface of the tank main body, a heating tube through which the heated fluid is circulated as the sterilizing means, and a cold tube through which cold water is circulated as the cooling means, The heating tube and the cooling tube are inserted into the pair of grooves, respectively,
Wherein the heating tube and the cooling tube are juxtaposed to the outer circumferential surface of the tank body in a state of being separated by a pair of grooves formed in the fixing member,
Wherein the fluid circulating in the heating tube is oil having a boiling point of at least 121 DEG C which is a sterilization temperature.
delete delete delete The method according to claim 1,
And a heat insulating material is filled between the outer chamber and the complex module.
The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the sterilizing means is used as a constant temperature means for maintaining the culture at the seed culture temperature after sterilization and cooling are completed.
The method according to claim 1,
The stirring means
And a motor coupled to an outer end of the rotary shaft, wherein the rotary shaft is coupled to an inner end of the rotary shaft, and the motor is coupled to an outer end of the rotary shaft. Incubator.
8. The method of claim 7,
The rotating body includes:
Wherein the sterilizing means comprises a plurality of spines extending radially from the rotation axis and having a convex curve shape with respect to the rotation axis.

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