WO2023170857A1

WO2023170857A1 - Plasma irradiation apparatus and plasma-treated liquid manufacturing method

Info

Publication number: WO2023170857A1
Application number: PCT/JP2022/010566
Authority: WO
Inventors: 紘佑土田; 俊之池戸
Original assignee: 株式会社Fuji
Priority date: 2022-03-10
Filing date: 2022-03-10
Publication date: 2023-09-14

Abstract

An atmospheric-pressure plasma irradiation apparatus 10 includes: a storage section 184 where a culture solution is stored; a plasma generator 20 that generates plasma to irradiate the culture solution stored in the storage section 184; a lifting device 100 capable of moving the storage section 184 either toward the plasma generator 20 or away from the plasma generator 20 to adjust the distance between the culture solution stored in the storage section 184 and the plasma generator 20; and a scale unit 110 that outputs position information indicating the amount of movement of the storage section 184 moved by the lifting device 100.

Description

Plasma irradiation device and plasma treatment liquid manufacturing method

The present disclosure relates to a technique for irradiating plasma onto an object to be processed.

Patent Document 1 discloses a plasma generator that ejects plasma toward the inside of a cover housing, a gas supply device that supplies gas to the inside of the cover housing, and a plasma generating device that is disposed inside the cover housing and on which an object to be processed is mounted. A plasma irradiation device comprising: a stage for placing the plasma; and a moving device for moving the stage and arbitrarily changing the distance between the stage and the plasma ejection port into the inside of the cover housing of the plasma generator. is listed.

In this plasma irradiation device, the distance between the stage and the plasma ejection port is adjusted by visually checking the scale of a measuring rod that is installed next to the stage.

Patent No. 6697470

However, in the plasma irradiation device described in Patent Document 1, the distance between the stage and the plasma ejection port is adjusted by visually checking the scale of the measurement rod, so parts may be removed during maintenance, for example. When the parts are attached and detached, the distance between the stage and the plasma ejection port changes before and after the parts are attached and detached, which may deteriorate the quality of the liquid to be treated that has been irradiated with plasma. The main reason for this is that errors inevitably occur due to shifts during distance adjustment and parallax when reading scales. Therefore, in the plasma irradiation apparatus described in Patent Document 1, it is very difficult to return the distance to the distance that was properly adjusted before attachment and detachment after attaching and detaching the component.

An object of the present disclosure is to provide a technique that makes it possible to properly adjust the distance between the liquid to be treated and the plasma generator and then return it to the appropriate distance.

In order to achieve the above object, the plasma irradiation device of the present disclosure includes a storage container that stores a liquid to be treated, a plasma generator that generates plasma to irradiate the liquid to be treated stored in the storage container, and a a moving mechanism capable of moving the storage container in either direction toward the plasma generator or away from the plasma generator in order to adjust the distance between the liquid to be treated stored in the plasma generator and the plasma generator; , and an encoder that outputs position information indicating the amount of movement of the storage container moved by the movement mechanism.

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to appropriately adjust the distance between the liquid to be treated and the plasma generator.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an atmospheric pressure plasma irradiation device according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. 2 is an exploded view of the plasma generator in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the plasma generator in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the plasma generator in FIG. 1. FIG. They are a perspective view ((a)) of an irradiation block and a cross-sectional perspective view ((b)) taken along the BB line. 2 is a block diagram of a control device in FIG. 1. FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an atmospheric pressure plasma irradiation device according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure. 8 is a block diagram of the control device in FIG. 7. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the procedure of an appropriate distance resetting process executed by a controller included in the control device of FIG. 8;

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail based on the drawings.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 shows an atmospheric pressure plasma irradiation apparatus 10 according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. The atmospheric pressure plasma irradiation device 10 is a device for irradiating a culture solution (an example of a "liquid to be treated") with plasma under atmospheric pressure, and includes a plasma generator 20, a cover housing 22, an opening/closing mechanism 24, It includes a stage 26, a lifting device 100, a purge gas supply mechanism 32 (see FIG. 6), a concentration detection mechanism 34 (see FIG. 6), and a control device 38. Note that the width direction of the atmospheric pressure plasma irradiation device 10 is referred to as the X direction, the depth direction of the atmospheric pressure plasma irradiation device 10 is referred to as the Y direction, and the direction perpendicular to the X direction and the Y direction, that is, the vertical direction is referred to as the Z direction. .

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the plasma generator 20 includes a cover 50, an upper block 52, a lower block 54, a pair of electrodes 56, and a nozzle block 58. The cover 50 generally has the shape of a square cylinder with a lid, and an upper block 52 is disposed inside the cover 50. The upper block 52 has a generally rectangular parallelepiped shape and is molded from ceramic. A pair of cylindrical recesses 60 are formed on the lower surface of the upper block 52 .

The lower block 54 also has a generally rectangular parallelepiped shape and is molded from ceramic. A recess 62 is formed on the upper surface of the lower block 54, and the recess 62 includes a pair of cylindrical recesses 66 and a connecting recess 68 that connects the pair of cylindrical recesses 66. . The lower block 54 is fixed to the lower surface of the upper block 52 while protruding from the lower end of the cover 50, and the cylindrical recess 60 of the upper block 52 and the cylindrical recess 66 of the lower block 54 are in communication. . Note that the cylindrical recess 60 and the cylindrical recess 66 have approximately the same diameter. Furthermore, a slit 70 that penetrates the lower surface of the lower block 54 is formed in the bottom surface of the recess 62 .

Each of the pair of electrodes 56 is arranged in a cylindrical space defined by a cylindrical recess 60 of the upper block 52 and a cylindrical recess 66 of the lower block 54. Note that the outer diameter of the electrode 56 is smaller than the inner diameter of the

cylindrical recesses

60 and 66. Further, the nozzle block 58 has a generally flat plate shape and is fixed to the lower surface of the lower block 54. A jet nozzle 72 is formed in the nozzle block 58 and communicates with the slit 70 of the lower block 54, and the jet nozzle 72 passes through the nozzle block 58 in the vertical direction.

The plasma generator 20 further includes a processing gas supply device 74 (see FIG. 6). The processing gas supply device 74 is a device that supplies a processing gas in which an active gas such as oxygen and an inert gas such as nitrogen are mixed in an arbitrary ratio, and is a cylindrical space defined by the

cylindrical recesses

60 and 66. And, it is connected to the upper part of the connection recess 68 via a pipe (not shown). As a result, the processing gas is supplied into the recess 62 from the gap between the electrode 56 and the cylindrical recess 66 and from the upper part of the connecting recess 68 .

With such a structure, the plasma generator 20 ejects plasma from the ejection port 72 of the nozzle block 58. Specifically, a processing gas is supplied into the recess 62 by a processing gas supply device 74 . At this time, a voltage is applied to the pair of electrodes 56 in the recess 62, and a current flows between the pair of electrodes 56. This causes a discharge between the pair of electrodes 56, and the discharge turns the processing gas into plasma. Then, plasma is ejected from the ejection port 72 through the slit 70.

Further, the cover housing 22 includes an upper cover 76 and a lower cover 78, as shown in FIG. The upper cover 76 generally has a cylindrical shape with a lid, and a through hole (not shown) having a shape corresponding to the lower block 54 of the plasma generator 20 is formed in the lid portion of the upper cover 76. The cover 50 of the plasma generator 20 is fixed in an upright position on the lid portion of the upper cover 76 so as to cover the through hole. Therefore, the lower block 54 and nozzle block 58 of the plasma generator 20 protrude toward the inside of the upper cover 76 so as to extend in the Z direction. Thereby, the plasma generated by the plasma generator 20 is ejected from the ejection port 72 of the nozzle block 58 toward the inside of the upper cover 76 in the Z direction.

Furthermore, generally rectangular through holes (not shown) are formed at three equally spaced positions on the side surface of the upper cover 76, and a transparent glass plate 80 is disposed to cover the through holes. ing. This makes it possible to visually check the inside of the upper cover 76 through the glass plate 80.

The lower cover 78 of the cover housing 22 is generally shaped like a disk, and is fixed to a housing 79 of a mounting section on which the atmospheric pressure plasma irradiation device 10 is mounted. The outer diameter of the lower cover 78 is larger than the outer diameter of the upper cover 76, and an annular packing (not shown) having the same diameter as the upper cover 76 is disposed on the upper surface of the lower cover 78. . Then, when the upper cover 76 is slid downward by the opening/closing mechanism 24, the upper cover 76 comes into close contact with the packing, and the inside of the cover housing 22 is in a sealed state.

The opening/closing mechanism 24 includes a pair of slide mechanisms 86 and an air cylinder (not shown). Each slide mechanism 86 includes a support shaft 90 and a slider 92. The support shaft 90 is provided upright on the housing 79 of the mounting section so as to extend in the Z direction. Further, the slider 92 has a generally cylindrical shape, and is fitted onto the outside of the support shaft 90 so as to be slidable in the axial direction of the support shaft 90. The upper cover 76 is held on the slider 92 by an upper bracket 96 and a lower bracket 98. Thereby, the upper cover 76 is slidable in the Z direction, that is, in the vertical direction.

The stage 26 is generally disc-shaped, and the irradiation block 180 is placed on the top surface of the stage 26. Further, the outer diameter of the stage 26 is smaller than the outer diameter of the lower cover 78.

The irradiation block 180 is used to store the culture solution sent by the liquid delivery tube 122 and generate a plasma-treated culture solution by irradiating the stored culture solution with the plasma ejected from the plasma generator 20. The generated plasma-treated culture fluid is discharged from the irradiation block 180 by the drain tube 124.

The culture solution is supplied from a culture solution supply section (not shown) provided outside the cover housing 22 to the irradiation block 180 inside the cover housing 22 through the liquid supply tube 122 using a pump (not shown). . Additionally, the plasma-treated culture fluid generated in the irradiation block 180 is drained from the irradiation block 180 through a drainage tube 124 using a pump (not shown), and is stored in a temporary storage bin ( (not shown). Therefore, through

holes

123 and 125 are formed in the side surface of the lower cover 78, through which the liquid feeding tube 122 and the liquid draining tube 124 pass, respectively.

FIG. 5 shows a schematic configuration of the irradiation block 180. 5(a) is a perspective view showing the overall appearance of the irradiation block 180, and FIG. 5(b) is a cross-sectional perspective view taken along line BB in FIG. 5(a). Note that the direction from left to right is the direction in which the culture solution flows.

The irradiation block 180 is made of ceramic and consists of an irradiation block main body 181 having a generally rectangular parallelepiped shape. Note that the long side direction of the irradiation block 180 is the X direction, and the short side direction is the Y direction. The irradiation block main body part 181 is formed with a groove part 183 and a storage part 184 whose surfaces facing the plasma generator 20 are open when installed in the cover housing 22 .

The groove portion 183 has a U-shape in which the YZ cross section opens upward. A bottom surface 183a forming the groove portion 183 is curved. The YZ cross-section of this groove 183 is slightly narrower than the cross-sectional shape of the liquid feeding tube 122 (see FIG. 1), and when the flexible liquid feeding tube 122 is fitted into the groove 183, the liquid feeding tube 122 is fixed.

The storage section 184 stores a culture solution for plasma irradiation. The storage portion 184 is constituted by a cylindrical recess formed of a side surface 184a and a bottom surface 184b. Further, a bottom surface 184b forming the storage section 184 is formed to be located below a bottom surface 183a forming the groove section 183. Further, a drain hole 184c is formed in the bottom surface 184b constituting the storage section 184 for discharging the plasma-treated culture solution generated by plasma irradiation of the culture solution to the outside from the storage section 184. Note that the bottom surface 184b is an inclined surface that slopes downward from the side surface 184a toward the drain hole 184c. This has the function of quickly discharging the plasma-treated culture solution from the storage section 184, and the function of preventing as much as possible a state in which a part of the plasma-treated culture solution remains in the storage section 184 without being discharged. This is to realize the following.

In addition to the above configuration, the irradiation block main body part 181 has a discharge part 186. The discharge part 186 is formed on the lower surface 181a of the irradiation block main body part 181 and protrudes downward from a position including the drain hole 184c of the storage part 184. The discharge portion 186 has a base portion 186a, a flange portion 186b, and a discharge locking portion 186c, and is integrally formed with each component 186a to 186c connected downward. Furthermore, a through hole 186d is formed in the center of the discharge portion 186 in the Z direction, and communicates with the drain hole 184c of the storage portion 184.

A portion of the outer peripheral surface of the discharge portion 186 that is continuous with the lower surface 181a of the irradiation block main body portion 181 is the base portion 186a. The diameter of the outer periphery of the discharge locking portion 186c formed below the base portion 186a with the flange portion 186b interposed therebetween is larger than the diameter of the drain tube 124 (see FIG. 1). Further, the outer diameter of the upper portion 186c1 of the discharge locking portion 186c is smaller than the outer diameter of the discharge locking portion 186c. Thereby, when the flexible drain tube 124 is fitted up to the upper part 186c1, the drain tube 124 is deformed along the outer periphery of the drain locking part 186c, and the drain tube 124 is fixed. Moreover, the irradiation block 180 is fixed to the stage 26 by fitting the base 186a and the notch 26a (see FIG. 1) of the stage 26. In this way, since the irradiation block 180 is not fixed using a fixture, it can be easily attached to and detached from the stage 26.

As shown in FIG. 1, the lifting device 100 includes a rotary operator 101, a gear 102, a rotating shaft 103, a pinion holding section 105, a support rod 106, a rack 107, and a pinion (not shown). The rotary operator 101 is an operator that can rotate both clockwise and counterclockwise with the Y direction as the rotation axis. A bevel gear (not shown) is provided at the end of the rotating shaft of the rotary operator 101 in the gear 102 direction. The gear 102 is also configured as a bevel gear, and both gears are meshed. As a result, the rotation of the rotary operator 101 around the rotation axis with the Y direction as the rotation axis is converted via the gear 102 into rotation around the rotation axis with the X direction as the rotation axis.

The gear 102 is provided with a rotating shaft 103 in the X direction, and the rotation of the gear 102 directly becomes the rotation of the rotating shaft 103. The rotating shaft of the pinion is connected to the end of the rotating shaft 103 opposite to the gear 102 .

A through hole (not shown) that passes through the lower cover 78 in the vertical direction is formed, and the support rod 106 is inserted into the through hole. The outer diameter of the support rod 106 is smaller than the inner diameter of the through hole, and the support rod 106 is movable in the vertical direction, that is, in the Z direction. The lower surface of the stage 26 is fixed to the upper end of the support rod 106.

Furthermore, the rack 107 is fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the portion of the support rod 106 that extends downward from the lower cover 78 so as to extend in the axial direction of the support rod 106. The pinion is meshed with the rack 107 and rotates as the rotating shaft 103 rotates. The pinion holding section 105 rotatably holds the pinion in the housing 79 of the mounting section.

With this structure, when the operator rotates the rotary operator 101, the rotation of the rotary operator 101 about the Y direction as the rotation axis is converted via the gear 102 to rotation about the X direction as the rotation axis. be done. The rotation of the gear 102 rotates the rotating shaft 103, and the pinion rotates accordingly, so that the support rod 106 moves in the Z direction and the stage 26 moves up and down. Note that in this embodiment, when the rotary operator 101 is rotated clockwise, the support rod 106 moves upward, and the upper surface of the stage 26 approaches the spout 72, causing the rotary operator 101 to move backward. When the support rod 106 is rotated clockwise, the support rod 106 moves downward and the upper surface of the stage 26 separates from the spout 72. The relationship between the directions of approaching and separating may be reversed.

The lower end of the support rod 106 is connected to the encoder section 112 of the scale unit 110 via a connecting member 108. In this embodiment, the scale unit 110 is configured by a so-called linear encoder, and mainly includes an encoder section 112 and a scale section 114. The encoder section 112 moves in the Z direction on the scale section 114, and outputs a pulse signal according to the amount of movement during the movement process. In this embodiment, the scale unit 110 is one in which the encoder section 112 outputs one pulse every time the encoder section 112 moves, for example, 1/100 mm, but the detection accuracy is not limited to this, and the accuracy may be slightly lower than this. The accuracy may be better than this.

The encoder section 112 is connected to the support rod 106 as described above, so when the support rod 106 moves in the Z direction, the encoder section 112 also moves in the Z direction by the amount of movement. Therefore, the encoder section 112 detects and outputs the amount of movement of the support rod 106, that is, the amount of elevation and descent of the stage 26.

There are two types of linear encoders (same as rotary encoders): incremental type and absolute type. The incremental type outputs a number of pulse signals corresponding to the amount of movement of the scale section 114 by the encoder section 112, and the absolute type outputs the absolute position of the detected point. In this embodiment, an incremental type is adopted as the scale unit 110.

As shown in FIG. 1, the purge gas supply mechanism 32 includes an air joint 130 and a purge gas supply device 132 (see FIG. 6). The air joint 130 is provided in the lid portion of the upper cover 76. The purge gas supply device 132 is a device that supplies an inert gas such as nitrogen, and is connected to the air joint 130 via piping (not shown). With this structure, the purge gas supply mechanism 32 supplies inert gas to the inside of the upper cover 76.

As shown in FIG. 6, the control device 38 includes a controller 170 and a plurality of drive circuits 172. The plurality of drive circuits 172 are connected to the electrode 56, the processing gas supply device 74, the purge gas supply device 132, and the display 120. The controller 170 is mainly a computer, including a CPU, ROM, RAM, etc., and is connected to a plurality of drive circuits 172. As a result, the operations of the plasma generator 20 and the purge gas supply mechanism 32 are controlled by the controller 170. Further, the controller 170 is connected to the detection sensor 144 and the encoder section 112. Thereby, the controller 170 acquires the detection result of the detection sensor 144, that is, the oxygen concentration inside the cover housing 22, and also acquires the pulse signal output by the encoder section 112.

When the controller 170 acquires the pulse signal from the encoder section 112, it counts up or down by one the count value stored in the count area (not shown) secured in the RAM, for example. That is, the controller 170 counts up when the encoder section 112 is moving upward, and counts down when the encoder section 112 is moving downward. Then, the controller 170 calculates the amount of movement of the encoder unit 112 corresponding to the new count value at the timing when the count up/down is executed, and uses the calculated amount of movement to calculate the display area to be referred to when the display 120 displays (Fig. (not shown). As a result, the updated movement amount is displayed on the display 120.

By irradiating the culture solution with plasma, the culture solution is activated, so plasma is expected to be used in the medical field, such as in the treatment of cancer using the plasma-irradiated culture solution. For this reason, a culture solution irradiated with plasma is generated, and it is preferable that the culture solution is irradiated with plasma under controlled conditions. In the atmospheric pressure plasma irradiation device 10, with the above-described configuration, by placing the irradiation block 180 on the stage 26 and sealing the cover housing 22, it is possible to irradiate the culture solution with plasma under predetermined conditions. It is. Below, a method of irradiating a culture solution with plasma under predetermined conditions will be described in detail.

Specifically, first, the irradiation block 180 is placed on the stage 26. Next, the stage 26 is raised and lowered to an arbitrary height by the raising and lowering device 100. Thereby, it becomes possible to arbitrarily set the distance between the plasma spout 72 and the culture solution as the object to be irradiated with the plasma. Note that the height of the stage 26 is displayed in units of 1/100 mm on the display 120 as described above, so there is no visual error as in the plasma irradiation apparatus described in Patent Document 1 mentioned above. .

Next, the upper cover 76 is lowered to seal the cover housing 22. Then, the purge gas supply mechanism 32 supplies inert gas to the inside of the cover housing 22 . At this time, the concentration detection mechanism 34 detects the oxygen concentration within the cover housing 22. Then, after the detected oxygen concentration becomes equal to or less than a preset threshold, plasma is ejected into the cover housing 22 by the plasma generator 20. Note that even when plasma is being irradiated, inert gas is continuously supplied to the inside of the cover housing 22. Further, the culture solution adjusted to a constant flow rate is flowed into the storage section 184 of the irradiation block 180 via the liquid feeding tube 122. The culture fluid stored in the storage section 184 is activated by being irradiated with plasma gas from the plasma generator 20. It is known that the therapeutic effect of the plasma-irradiated culture solution can be exerted by irradiating the culture solution with plasma gas for a predetermined period of time. By storing the culture solution in the storage section 184, plasma gas is irradiated for a predetermined period of time. Further, the culture solution undergoes natural convection within the storage section 184 by being irradiated with plasma gas. This makes it possible to obtain a homogeneous activated culture solution that exhibits a therapeutic effect.

In this way, by supplying the inert gas to the inside of the cover housing 22, the air inside the cover housing 22 is exhausted to the outside of the cover housing 22. At this time, conditions that affect plasma irradiation are managed by adjusting the oxygen concentration within the cover housing 22. Specifically, since plasma contains active radicals, when it reacts with oxygen, it becomes ozone, which reduces the effectiveness of plasma irradiation. Therefore, by adjusting the oxygen concentration within the cover housing 22, it becomes possible to examine the influence of the oxygen concentration on the effectiveness of the culture solution irradiated with plasma. Furthermore, it becomes possible to irradiate the culture solution with plasma under the same conditions. This makes it possible to efficiently generate a plasma-treated culture solution.

Furthermore, in the atmospheric pressure plasma irradiation device 10, as described above, the distance between the plasma spout 72 and the culture solution is arbitrarily set. This makes it possible to examine the influence of irradiation distance on the effectiveness of plasma-irradiated culture fluid, and to efficiently generate plasma-treated culture fluid.

After a predetermined period of time has elapsed after plasma irradiation was started, the plasma-treated culture solution stored in the storage section 184 is discharged via the drain tube 124. After a predetermined period of time has elapsed after the discharge of the plasma-treated culture solution from the storage section 184 has started, it is assumed that no plasma-treated culture solution remains in the storage section 184, and the plasma-treated culture solution is discharged from the storage section 184. Complete the drain. Then, the culture solution to be subjected to plasma treatment next is flowed into the storage section 184 of the irradiation block 180 via the liquid feeding tube 122. Hereinafter, the plasma processing includes plasma irradiation for a predetermined time to the culture solution stored in the storage unit 184, draining of the plasma-treated culture solution, supply of new culture solution to the irradiation block 180, plasma irradiation to the culture solution, etc. The process is performed repeatedly until a predetermined amount of plasma-treated culture fluid is produced.

Now that the distance between the plasma spout 72 and the culture medium is set to an appropriate distance, it is necessary to replace the liquid supply tube 122 or the liquid drainage tube 124 for maintenance, for example. do. Due to this replacement work, the distance between the plasma spout 72 and the culture solution inevitably deviates from the appropriate distance. However, if the operator takes note of the amount of movement displayed on the display 120 before the operation, the operator can move the rotary operator 10 so that the amount of movement that matches the amount of movement displayed on the display 120 is displayed after the operation. You can easily and quickly return to the appropriate distance before work by simply operating the .

As described above, the atmospheric pressure plasma irradiation device 10 of this embodiment includes the irradiation block 180 that stores the culture solution, and the plasma generator 20 that generates plasma to irradiate the culture solution stored in the irradiation block 180. In order to adjust the distance between the culture solution stored in the irradiation block 180 and the plasma generator 20, the irradiation block 180 can be moved in either direction towards the plasma generator 20 or away from the plasma generator 20. It includes an elevating device 100 that can be moved, and a scale unit 110 that outputs position information indicating the amount of movement of the irradiation block 180 moved by the elevating device 100.

In this way, in the atmospheric pressure plasma irradiation device 10 of this embodiment, after appropriately adjusting the distance between the culture solution and the plasma generation device 20 based on the position information output from the scale unit 110, the appropriate distance is again adjusted. It is possible to return to.

Incidentally, in this embodiment, the atmospheric pressure plasma irradiation device 10 is an example of a "plasma irradiation device." A culture solution is an example of a "liquid to be treated." The irradiation block 180 is an example of a "storage container." The lifting device 100 is an example of a "moving mechanism." Scale unit 110 is an example of an "encoder."

Furthermore, the atmospheric pressure plasma irradiation apparatus 10 of this embodiment further includes a display 120 that displays position information output by the scale unit 110. Incidentally, the display 120 is an example of a "display device." As a result, the operator can easily return the distance between the culture solution and the plasma generator 20 to the appropriate distance while viewing the position information displayed on the display 120. And it becomes possible to do it quickly.

The lifting device 100 also includes a rotary operator 101 that can be rotated clockwise and counterclockwise, and a rack 107 and a pinion that convert the amount of rotation rotated by the rotary operator 101 into the amount of movement of the irradiation block 180. , has. Incidentally, the rack 107 and pinion are an example of a "conversion mechanism."

Furthermore, the atmospheric pressure plasma irradiation apparatus 10 of this embodiment further includes a stage 26 on which the irradiation block 180 is placed, and a support rod 106 connected to the back surface of the stage 26. Then, the lifting device 100 adjusts the distance between the culture solution stored in the irradiation block 180 and the plasma generator 20 by moving the support rod 106 in the vertical direction, and the scale unit 110 moves the support rod 106 in the vertical direction. Position information indicating the amount of movement of the support rod 106 connected and moved by the lifting device 100 is output. Incidentally, the support rod 106 is an example of a "shaft."

The irradiation block 180 also includes a storage section 184 that stores the culture solution, a groove section 183 to which the liquid feeding tube 122 that sends the culture solution from the outside of the plasma irradiation device 10 to the storage section 184 is attached, and the culture solution stored in the storage section 184. A drain hole 184c is provided on the bottom surface 184b of the storage section 184 for draining the culture solution, and a drain section 186 is formed to protrude downward from the irradiation block 180 from a position including the drain hole 184c. The discharge portion 186 has a through hole 186d that communicates with the drain hole 184c, and a discharge lock for attaching a drain tube 124 for discharging the drain fluid passing through the through hole 186d to the outside of the plasma irradiation device 10. A notch 26a is formed in the stage 26 to fit the ejection part 186, and when the irradiation block 180 is placed on the stage 26, the ejection part 186 of the irradiation block 180 is inserted into the stage 26. It is placed by fitting it into the notch 26a of. Incidentally, the liquid feeding tube 122 is an example of a "liquid feeding tube." The groove portion 183 is an example of a “liquid pipe attachment portion”. The drain tube 124 is an example of a "drain tube." The discharge locking part 186c is an example of a "drainage pipe attachment part."

(Second embodiment)
FIG. 7 shows an atmospheric pressure plasma irradiation apparatus 10A according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure. Since the atmospheric pressure plasma irradiation apparatus 10A differs from the atmospheric pressure plasma irradiation apparatus 10 of the first embodiment only in a partial configuration of the lifting device 200 and a partial configuration of the control device 38, FIGS. 8, components similar to those in FIGS. 1 and 6 are designated by the same reference numerals, and their descriptions will be omitted as appropriate.

As shown in FIG. 7, the lifting device 200 is obtained by replacing the rotary operator 101 and gear 102 included in the lifting device 100 with an electromagnetic motor 210. For this reason, a drive circuit 172 for driving the electromagnetic motor 210 is added to the control device 38A, as shown in FIG. Additionally, an UP key 150 for moving the stage 26 upward a predetermined distance and a DOWN key 152 for moving the stage 26 downward a predetermined distance are also added.

FIG. 9 shows the procedure of the appropriate distance resetting process executed by the controller 170. Hereinafter, in the description of each processing procedure, a step will be denoted as "S". This appropriate distance resetting process includes not only the processes of S24 to S36 for automatically resetting the appropriate distance, but also the processes of S10 to S20 for setting the appropriate distance to be performed before that. However, if the appropriate distance is set in advance, the processes in S10 to S20 may be omitted.

In FIG. 9, the controller 170 first determines whether an appropriate distance has been set (S10). To determine whether the distance is appropriate, for example, actually irradiate the culture solution with plasma while changing the distance between the plasma spout 72 and the culture solution, and check the quality of the plasma-treated culture solution each time. , the distance at which the best quality is obtained is determined to be the optimal distance.

In the determination at S10, if the appropriate distance is not set (S10: NO), the controller 170 determines whether or not the UP key 150 has been pressed (S12), and if the UP key 150 has been pressed (S12: YES), the controller 170 outputs an instruction to the drive circuit 172 to rotate the electromagnetic motor 210 in the forward direction by a predetermined number of rotations (S14). As a result, the support rod 106 is moved upward by a predetermined amount, so that the distance between the plasma spout 72 and the culture solution is reduced by the predetermined amount. Then, the controller 170 reads the count value stored in the count area described above in the first embodiment, obtains the current distance based on the read count value (S20), and then returns the process to S10. .

On the other hand, in the determination in S12 above, if the UP key 150 has not been pressed (S12: NO), the controller 170 determines whether the DOWN key 152 has been pressed (S16), and determines whether the DOWN key 152 has been pressed. If so (S16: YES), the controller 170 outputs an instruction to the drive circuit 172 to reversely rotate the electromagnetic motor 210 by a predetermined number of rotations (S18). As a result, the support rod 106 moves downward by a predetermined amount, so that the distance between the plasma spout 72 and the culture solution increases by the predetermined amount. Then, the controller 170 advances the process to S20 above, reads out the count value stored in the count area, obtains the current distance based on the read count value, and then returns the process to S10 above.

On the other hand, in the judgment in S10 above, if the appropriate distance is set (S10: YES), the controller 170 sets the current distance acquired in S20 above as the appropriate distance, for example, in an appropriate distance storage area (not shown) secured in the RAM. (S22).

Next, the controller 170 determines whether automatic resetting of the appropriate distance has been instructed (S24). For example, an instruction button (not shown) is provided, and the operator can issue an instruction to automatically reset the appropriate distance by pressing the instruction button. In the judgment in S24, if automatic resetting of the appropriate distance is not instructed (S24: NO), the controller 170 waits until the instruction is given, and when the instruction is given (S24: YES), the controller 170 , the current distance is acquired in the same manner as in S20 above (S26).

Then, the controller 170 performs the same steps as in S18 above until the current distance matches the appropriate distance stored in S22 (S36: YES), and if the current distance > appropriate distance (S28: YES). Then, an instruction to reversely rotate the electromagnetic motor 210 by a predetermined number of rotations is output to the drive circuit 172 (S30), and if the current distance<appropriate distance (S32: YES), the controller 170 performs the same operation as in S14 above. , outputs an instruction to the drive circuit 172 to rotate the electromagnetic motor 210 in the forward direction by a predetermined number of rotations (S34). In this way, while there is a discrepancy between the current distance and the appropriate distance, the support rod 106 is moved in a direction that reduces the discrepancy, so that the distance between the plasma spout 72 and the culture medium is maintained at the appropriate distance. When the current distance and the appropriate distance match (S36: YES), the controller 170 ends the automatic appropriate distance resetting process.

Note that in the processes of S14, S18, S30, and S34, the electromagnetic motor 210 is instructed to rotate by a predetermined number of rotations, but the predetermined number of rotations may be the same in each process, or may be different in each process. The number of rotations may be different. Alternatively, the rotation speed may be the same in S14 and S18, and the same rotation speed in S30 and S34, but different rotation speeds may be used in S14 and S30.

In this way, in the atmospheric pressure plasma irradiation apparatus 10A of this embodiment, the lifting device 200 includes the electromagnetic motor 210, the rack 107 and the pinion that convert the amount of rotation of the rotation axis of the electromagnetic motor 210 into the amount of movement of the storage section 184. ,have. Incidentally, the electromagnetic motor 210 is an example of a "motor".

The atmospheric pressure plasma irradiation device 10A of this embodiment further includes a controller 170 that controls the electromagnetic motor 210 so that the distance between the culture solution stored in the irradiation block 180 and the plasma generator 20 becomes a specified distance. ing. Incidentally, the controller 170 is an example of a "control unit". Thereby, it becomes possible to automatically perform the operation for returning the distance between the culture solution and the plasma generator 20 to the appropriate distance again using the electromagnetic motor 210.

Furthermore, the atmospheric pressure plasma irradiation apparatus 10A of this embodiment further includes a stage 26 on which the irradiation block 180 is placed, and a support rod 106 connected to the back surface of the stage 26. The lifting device 200 adjusts the distance between the culture solution stored in the irradiation block 180 and the plasma generator 20 by moving the support rod 106 in the vertical direction, and the scale unit 110 moves the support rod 106 in the vertical direction. Position information indicating the amount of movement of the support rod 106 connected and moved by the lifting device 200 is output.

Note that the present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiments, and various changes can be made without departing from the spirit thereof.

In each of the above embodiments, a culture solution is used as the object to be processed, but it is possible to use a liquid other than the culture solution as the object to be processed. Furthermore, the present disclosure is applicable not only to the medical field but also to various fields such as the industrial field.

10, 10A... Atmospheric pressure plasma irradiation device, 20... Plasma generator, 26... Stage, 38, 38A... Control device, 72... Jet outlet, 100, 200... Lifting device, 101... Rotary operator, 102... Gear, 103... Rotating shaft, 105... Pinion holding part, 106... Support rod, 107... Rack, 110... Scale unit, 112... Encoder part, 114... Scale part, 120... Display, 132... Purge gas supply device, 150... UP key, 152...DOWN key, 170...controller, 180...irradiation block, 184...reservoir, 210...electromagnetic motor.

Claims

a storage container that stores the liquid to be treated;
a plasma generator that generates plasma to irradiate the liquid to be treated stored in the storage container;
In order to adjust the distance between the liquid to be treated stored in the storage container and the plasma generation device, the storage container is moved in either direction toward the plasma generation device or away from the plasma generation device. A moving mechanism that can move the
an encoder that outputs position information indicating the amount of movement of the storage container moved by the movement mechanism;
Plasma irradiation equipment equipped with
The plasma irradiation apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a display that displays the position information output by the encoder.
The moving mechanism is
a rotary operator that can rotate clockwise and counterclockwise;
a conversion mechanism that converts the amount of rotation rotated by the rotary operator into the amount of movement of the storage container;
The plasma irradiation device according to claim 1 or 2, comprising:
The moving mechanism is
motor and
a conversion mechanism that converts the amount of rotation of the rotation shaft of the motor into the amount of movement of the storage container;
The plasma irradiation device according to claim 1 or 2, comprising:
The plasma irradiation device according to claim 4, further comprising a control unit that controls the motor so that the distance between the liquid to be treated stored in the storage container and the plasma generation device becomes a specified distance.
a stage for placing the storage container;
a shaft connected to the back surface of the stage;
Furthermore,
The moving mechanism adjusts the distance between the liquid to be treated stored in the storage container and the plasma generator by moving the shaft in the vertical direction,
The encoder is connected to the shaft and outputs position information indicating the amount of movement of the shaft moved by the movement mechanism.
The plasma irradiation device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.
The storage container includes a storage part that stores the liquid to be treated, a liquid delivery pipe attachment part that attaches a liquid delivery pipe that sends the liquid to the storage part from outside the plasma irradiation apparatus, and the storage part. a drainage hole provided on the bottom surface of the storage section for draining the liquid to be treated stored in the storage container; and a discharge section formed to protrude downward from the storage container from a position including the drainage hole. , has
The discharge section includes a through hole that communicates with the drain hole, and a drain pipe attachment section that attaches a drain pipe for discharging the drain fluid passing through the through hole to the outside of the plasma irradiation device. formed,
A notch is formed in the stage to fit the ejection part,
When placing the storage container on the stage, the storage container is placed by fitting the discharge part of the storage container into the notch of the stage.
The plasma irradiation device according to claim 6.
a storage container that stores a liquid to be treated; a plasma generator that generates plasma to irradiate the liquid to be treated stored in the storage container; and the liquid to be treated stored in the storage container and the plasma generator. a moving mechanism capable of moving the storage container in either direction toward the plasma generating device or away from the plasma generating device in order to adjust the distance from the device; and an encoder that outputs positional information indicating the amount of movement of the storage container, the liquid to be treated stored in the storage container is irradiated with plasma to produce a plasma-treated liquid. A method for producing a plasma processing liquid.