JPH0420238Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] Industrial field of application The present invention comprises a culture tank and a stirring device for stirring the culture solution in the culture tank, and the temperature, pH, and temperature of the culture solution contained in the culture tank, Controls dissolved oxygen concentration, etc.
The present invention relates to a culture device for agitating and culturing microorganisms in the culture solution.

Problems to be solved by conventional techniques and ideas Conventionally, the method of culturing microorganisms involves inoculating microorganisms into a culture solution containing nutrients necessary for the growth of microorganisms, and controlling the temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen concentration, etc. of the culture solution. control,
A stirring culture method is known in which culture is carried out by stirring a culture solution under control, and when culturing microorganisms by this culture method, a stirring culture device called a jar fermenter is usually used.

As shown in FIG. 8, this stirring culture device consists of a culture tank a and a stirring device main body c having a space b with an open front and both sides in which the culture tank a is placed. a is placed and fixed on the lower wall d of the space b, and the upper end f of the stirring shaft e disposed in the culture tank a is mounted on the upper wall g of the space b of the apparatus main body c. A rotary shaft h connected to a joint i is generally used.
The rotation axis h is designed to rotate in conjunction with a power source such as a power motor built into the main body c, and the culture tank a is mounted on the wall d on which the culture tank a is placed and fixed. It has a built-in heater that heats the culture solution contained within. Furthermore, the culture tank a is equipped with an air blowing pipe j and various sensors k such as a temperature sensor and a PH sensor, so that culture conditions can be constantly controlled.

When culturing microorganisms using this culture device, a culture solution containing nutrients necessary for the growth of microorganisms is stored in a culture tank a, microorganisms are inoculated into this culture solution, and air is injected from an air blowing pipe j. The culture solution is stirred by rotating the stirring shaft e while supplying (oxygen) into the culture solution, and the culture solution is kept at an appropriate temperature by a heater built into the wall part d, thereby culturing microorganisms efficiently. . In this case, the temperature of the culture solution,
PH, dissolved oxygen concentration, etc. are measured by various sensors k provided in the culture tank a, and these can be kept at appropriate values at all times.

Here, in order to cultivate microorganisms in a pure manner, it is very important to prevent contamination due to contamination with other microorganisms, so-called contamination. Therefore, before storing the culture solution in culture tank a, is removed from the apparatus main body c with the stirring shaft e and various sensors f etc. attached, and after sterilization using a high pressure sterilizer (autoclave) etc., is attached to the apparatus main body c,
In this case, in the culture apparatus shown in FIG. 8, the stirring shaft e and the rotating shaft h are connected above the culture tank a, and there is no space above and below the culture tank a. Therefore, the work of removing and attaching the culture tank a from the main body c of the apparatus is very inefficient and requires a lot of effort. In addition, this type of culture device can only be equipped with a single-capacity culture tank, and if you want to culture with various capacities, you must prepare a separate culture device with a culture tank of each capacity. Very inconvenient.

In addition, as shown in Fig. 9, a culture tank a is fixed on the top surface of the stirring device main body c, which has a built-in heater and an electric magnet (both not shown), and by rotating the electric magnet inside the main body c, the culture can be carried out. Tank a
A so-called stirrer system in which the stirring shaft e inside is interlocked and rotated by magnetic force has also been commercialized. With such a stirrer type, culture vessels of different capacities can be used and the culture vessels can be easily removed, but stirrer type stirring devices have problems with their stirring power, If the culture solution has a high viscosity, there is a problem in that sufficient stirring cannot be performed.

In addition, in order to be able to use culture tanks of various capacities and to facilitate connection between the device main body and the culture tank, a table is provided with a culture tank mounting plate on which the culture tank is fixed so that it can be pulled out forward; The table consists of a support that is erected, and a control unit that is attached to the top of the support so as to face above the table and is electrically and mechanically connected to the culture tank, and the support is replaceable. By using supports of various heights, culture tanks of various capacities can be attached, and by pulling out the culture tank mounting plate, the upper part of the culture tank is opened, making it easy to attach and remove the culture tank. A culture device that does this has also been proposed. (Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication 1986-
However, this culture device has a problem in that when changing the capacity of the culture tank, it takes a lot of effort to replace the support supporting the control section.

The present invention was developed in view of the above circumstances, and allows the use of several types of culture tanks with different capacities, and allows for easy replacement of them. It is an object of the present invention to provide a stirring culture device that can be easily removed and attached to the main body of the device.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has a culture tank having a stirring shaft, a culture tank arrangement space for arranging the culture tank, and is detachable from the stirring shaft of the culture tank. and a stirring device main body rotatably provided with a rotation shaft connected to the upper wall of the space to rotate the stirring shaft, and a table body on which the culture tank is placed near one front corner of the stirring device main body. The table body is rotatably pivoted on the lower wall of the space of the main body so as to be able to move forward and backward between the space and the outside, and the table body is provided at the rear part of the table body. A support body is attached to be movable back and forth and supports and positions the culture tank, and a proximal end is detachably attached to one end of the support body, and the distal end is wrapped around the culture tank and attached to the other end of the support body. The present invention provides a stirring culture device characterized in that a culture tank fixing device comprising a belt that fixes the culture tank to the support body by being fixed to the end portion is disposed on the table body.

Function In the agitation culture device of the present invention, when the culture tank is removed from the device main body in order to perform sterilization treatment etc. on the culture tank, and when the culture tank is attached to the device main body after processing, the culture tank is fixed or The pivot point where the table body to be fixed is attached to the lower wall of the space of the device body,
That is, by rotating the table body around one corner on the front side, it can be moved from the culture tank placement space of the apparatus main body to the front outside, and therefore, the culture tank can be removed from the table body and attached to the table body. Installation work can be performed easily and efficiently.

In addition, in the culture apparatus of the present invention, the method of fixing the culture tank to the table body described above is to wrap the belt of the culture tank fixing device provided on the table body around the culture tank and attach the tip of the belt to the support of the fixing device. A method is adopted in which the culture tank is fixed to the table body via the fixture by fixing the culture tank to the support body of the fixture, but in this case, the belt wrapped around the culture tank is attached to the support body. Since it is removable, you can easily install several types of culture tanks with different diameters, that is, several types of culture tanks with different capacities, by simply replacing this belt with other belts of different lengths. When replacing the culture tank with a culture tank having a diameter of 100 cm, the belt can be easily replaced by a belt with a length corresponding to the diameter of the culture tank. Further, when replacing the culture tank with a culture tank having a different diameter, by moving the support body of the culture tank fixing device back and forth, the stirring shaft of the culture tank can be easily aligned and connected to the rotation axis of the main body of the apparatus.
Furthermore, the work of attaching, detaching, and replacing the culture tank can be done by rotating the table body as described above.
The culture tank is pulled out outside the space where the culture tank is placed.
In this case, the table body is rotated around one front corner, so the support body of the fixture attached to the rear of the table body moves from the side to the front side of the device body due to the rotation of the table body. This makes it possible to easily replace the belt and to wrap the belt around the culture tank and fix its tip to the support body.

In addition, the stirring mechanism of the stirring culture device of the present invention mechanically connects the stirring shaft of the culture tank and the rotating shaft provided on the device main body, and mechanically transmits the rotational force of the rotating shaft to the stirring shaft to stir. Since the shaft is rotated, good stirring can be achieved even if the culture solution has a high viscosity.

Next, one embodiment of the present invention will be shown and the present invention will be specifically explained.

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 shows a stirring culture device according to an embodiment of the present invention. This stirring culture device 1 includes a culture tank 3 having a stirring shaft 2, a control unit 4 on one side, and a culture tank 3 on the other side. It consists of a stirring device body 6 having a culture tank placement space 5 in which a culture tank is placed.

Upper wall portion 7 of the space 5 in the device main body 6
A rotating shaft 9 releasably connected to a stirring shaft 2 disposed within the culture tank 3 via a joint 8 is rotatably disposed in the center, and furthermore, on the lower wall 10, the stirring shaft 2 disposed inside the culture tank 3 is rotatably connected. The belt culture tank fixture 11 is provided with a culture tank fixture 11 that fixes the culture tank 3 by wrapping it around the belt.
A table body 12 to which the culture tank 3 is fixed is rotatably pivoted at its front corner 13 on the control section 4 side. The control unit 4 also includes a recorder 14 at the top, a controller unit 15 at the center, three chemical injection pumps 16, 16, 16 at the bottom, and three chemical injection bottles 17 at the front of the lower part. ,1
A drug dosing bottle mounting stand 18 is provided, and the drug dosing bottles 17, 17, 17 are connected to the drug dosing pumps 16, 16, 16, respectively, via suction pipes. In the figure, 19, 19, 19 are various sensors such as a temperature sensor, PH sensor, oxygen concentration measurement sensor, 20 is an air blowing pipe, and 21
is a drug injection pipe, 22 is a flow meter, and the measured values of various sensors 19 are sent to the controller unit 1.
Displayed on the meter provided in 5 and the recording section 14,
The air injection pipe 20 and chemical injection pipe 21 are connected to an air compressor (not shown) and a chemical injection pump 17, respectively, and the controller unit 1
5. The injection amount can be controlled by the drug injection pump 17. Furthermore, the above-mentioned rotating shaft 9 is connected to an electric motor (not shown) built in the main body 6 of the apparatus, and its rotational speed can be controlled by a controller unit 15.

Here, the table body 12 is shown in FIGS.
and a substantially box-shaped table base 2 as shown in FIG.
A circular opening 24 is provided in the center of the upper wall of 3, and a round plate-shaped mounting plate 25 is fitted into the opening 24 to form a culture tank mounting recess 26. An electric heater 27 is provided, and this heater 27 is in contact with the lower surface of the bottom wall of the culture tank mounting recess 26, and furthermore, on the rear upper surface of the table base 23,
A culture tank fixing member 30 consisting of a culture tank fixture 11 composed of a belt 11a and a support body 28 and a fixture support member 29 is provided.

Fixture support member 2 constituting the fixing member 30
9 has through holes 31 at both ends as shown in FIG.
Plate-shaped flanges 33, 33 are protrudingly provided on both lower end edges of a substantially U-shaped base 32 having a diameter of 31, and the through holes 3
1 and 31, tighten screws 3 from the outside in the radial direction.
4 and 34 are provided in a screwed state, respectively, and this support member 29 is arranged and fixed to the upper rear part of the table body 12. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the support bodies 28 constituting the culture tank fixture 11 are spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance on the outer wall 28b of a plate-shaped base 35 whose inner wall 28a has an arcuate cutout in the center. The support rods 36, 36 are configured to protrude rearward. Near one end in the width direction of the inner wall 28 a of the support body 28 , a base end of a distal belt 38 having a hook-shaped hook portion 37 at the distal end and a distal end of the proximal belt 39 are connected to a hinge 40 .
The proximal end 41 of the belt 11a connected through the belt 11a is hinged with a pin 42 so as to be detachable and replaceable, and a hook 37 at the tip of the belt 11a is attached to the wall near the other end in the width direction of the inner wall 28a. A buckle 43 for fastening and fixing is provided, and constitutes the culture tank fixture 11. The support body 28 constituting the culture tank fixture 11 has the through hole 3 of the fixture support member 29.
Support rods 36, 36 are inserted into 1, 31 so that they can move forward and backward, and are fixed with tightening screws 34, 34,
It is arranged and fixed to the rear part of the upper surface of the table body 12. Also, on the back side of this table body 12, one front corner (control unit 4 when mounted on the mounting body) is provided.
A rotation shaft 43 is protruded near the side front corner 13),
Further, an arcuate notch recess 45 is formed from the other front corner of the back surface to the center of the back surface, and further,
Ball casters 46 at both corners and center of one side,
46, 46 are arranged.

The table body 12 has a rotation shaft 43 rotatably inserted into a bearing hole (not shown) bored in the front corner of the control unit 4 side on the lower wall 10 of the space 5 of the stirring device main body 6. At the same time, the lower wall portion 1
0, and is adapted to be pulled out from inside the space 5 forward about the rotation shaft 43 within a range limited by the notch recess 45. (6th
figure). A locking mechanism (not shown) is provided between the table body 12 and the lower wall, and the table body 12 is locked when it is completely accommodated in the space 5, and the lock release piece 47 is locked. The locked state can be released by operating . Further, an electric heater 27 in the table body 12 is connected to the main body 6 of the apparatus via a lead wire (not shown), and the temperature of the heat generated by the heater 27 can be adjusted by the controller unit 15.

In addition, in this culture apparatus 1, one-touch type couplers that can be easily attached and detached are used as the various joints 8, 8, 8, and in consideration of maintenance, the controller unit 15 has handles 47, 47. It can be pulled forward.

Next, when culturing microorganisms using the culture device 1, first, as shown in FIG.
9, 19, 19, the connection state of the air blowing pipe 20, the drug injection pipe 21 and the device main body 6 to the joint 8, 8, 8.
Then, the table body 12 is unlocked by operating the lock release piece 47 to release the lock between the table body 12 and the lower wall part 10, and the table body 12 is moved forward about the front corner 13 on the control part 4 side. The culture tank 3 is moved together with the culture tank 3 by pulling it out from the culture tank placement space 5, and the buckle 43 of the culture tank fixture 11 is operated to release the connection between the tip of the belt 11a and the support body 28, and the culture tank 3 is removed. Remove. After sterilizing this culture tank 3 using an autoclave or the like with various sensors 19 attached, the table body 1
Place the culture tank placement recess 26 of No. 2, and wrap the belt 11a of the culture tank fixture 11 around this culture tank 3.
The culture tank 3 is fixed to the table body 12 by hooking and fixing the hook part 37 at the tip to the buckle 43 of the support body 28, and the table body 12 is pushed rearward, and the culture tank 3 and the space of the apparatus main body 6 are closed. Part 5
After moving inside and locking, connect the various sensors 19, 19, 19, air blowing pipe 20, and chemical injection pipe 21 of the culture tank 3 to the apparatus main body 6 via joints 8, 8, 8, respectively, and stir further. The shaft 2 and the rotating shaft 9 are connected via a joint 8. Next, the inside of the culture tank 3 is filled with a culture solution containing nutrients necessary for the growth of microorganisms, the microorganisms are inoculated into this culture solution, the culture solution is stirred by rotating the stirring shaft 2, and the culture solution is passed through an air blowing tube. A heater 2 that supplies air (oxygen) to the culture solution and is also built into the table body 12
7, the culture solution is heated to the optimum culture temperature and culture is performed. At this time, the temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen concentration, etc. of the culture solution are constantly checked by sensors 19, 19, 19, and by operating the controller unit 15, the rotation speed of the stirring shaft 2, the amount of air blown, the heater 27 control the calorific value of the chemical dosing bottles 17, 1 by the chemical dosing pumps 16, 16, 16.
Various nutrients, PH preparation liquid, etc. stored in 7 and 17 are supplied to the culture solution in the culture tank 3 through the chemical injection pipe 21, and the temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen concentration, nutrient concentration, etc. of the culture solution are always kept at optimum values. be able to.

In addition, when replacing the culture tank 3 with a culture tank of a different diameter (a culture tank with a different capacity), remove the culture tank 3 in the same manner as described above, and then remove the pin from the support body 28 of the culture tank fixture 11. 42 and remove the belt 11a, then attach a belt suitable for the diameter of the culture tank to be used to the support body 28 with the pin 42,
A new culture tank is attached and fixed to the table body 12 in the same manner as described above. Also, loosen the tightening screws 34, 34 of the fixture support member 29, move the support body 28 forward and backward, and place the culture tank in the culture tank mounting recess 26.
After moving the table body 12 to the center of the culture tank, tighten the tightening screws 34, 34 to fix the support body 28, move the table body 12 together with the new culture tank into the space 5 in the same manner as described above, and install the stirring shaft and various sensors. etc. to the apparatus main body 6 to complete the exchange of the culture tank.

Therefore, in the stirring culture device of this example,
The table body 12 on which the culture tank 3 is placed and fixed can be moved from the culture tank arrangement space 5, which makes the work of removing and attaching the culture tank 3 to the main body 6 very simple. can be done. In addition, by replacing the belt 11a of the culture tank fixture 11 with another belt of a different length and changing the wrapping length of the belt 11a, it is possible to easily use a culture tank with a diameter different from that of the culture tank 3 (with a different capacity). tank) can be replaced. Furthermore, belt replacement for culture tank replacement and attachment/detachment of the culture tank 3 are performed by rotating the table body 12 and pulling it out from the space 5 of the apparatus main body 6 as described above. 12 rotates around its front corner, so that the support body 28 of the fixture 11 attached to the rear of the table body 12 is rotated by the rotation of the table body 12.
The belt 1 moves to the side of the apparatus main body 6 and protrudes, so it can be used for replacing the belt 11a or for attaching and detaching the culture tank.
The connection and disconnection of the tip 1a and the buckle 43, as well as the movement of the support body 28 back and forth, can be easily performed with good workability. In addition, in the above example, the various sensors 19, air blowing pipe 20, chemical injection pipe 21, and stirring shaft 2 of the culture tank 3 are connected to the apparatus main body 6 and the rotating shaft 9 using one-touch coupler type joints. Since the controller unit 15 can be pulled out, its maintenance can be done from the front of the device body 6. It is very convenient to do.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the culture tank arrangement space and the control section were provided on the left and right, but the control section may be provided above the space, or the space may be provided above the control section. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, three stirring culture apparatuses 1 each have a culture tank arrangement space 5 and a control section 4 above this space 5;
It is also possible to use a triple stirring culture device in which 1 and 1 are connected in a row so that culture can be carried out simultaneously under different conditions. Further, the configuration of the culture device main body, the culture tank, and the shapes of other constituent members may be changed in various ways within the scope of the gist of the present invention.

Effects of the Invention As explained above, the stirring shaft culture device of the present invention can use several types of culture tanks with different capacities, and can be easily replaced. It is easy to remove the tank from the device body and attach it to the device body, and since the stirring shaft of the culture tank and the device body are mechanically connected, even when using a highly viscous culture solution. Good stirring can be performed.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a stirring culture device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and Figs. 2 A to C show a table body constituting the device, where A is a plan view and B is a right side view. , C is the bottom view, and Figure 3 is the − of Figure 2 A.
A cross-sectional view taken along the line, FIGS. 4A and 4B show the belt support member constituting the device, A is a plan view, and B is a sectional view taken along the line.
5 is a front view, FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a belt body constituting the device, FIG. 6 is a partially omitted perspective view of the device showing the state when a culture tank is attached to or removed from the device, and FIG. FIG. 7 is a front view showing another embodiment of the agitation culture device of the present invention, FIGS. 8A and B show a conventional agitation culture device, where A is a front view, B is a side view, and FIG.
The figure is a perspective view showing another example of a conventional stirring culture device. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Stirring culture device, 2... Stirring shaft, 3... Culture tank, 5... Culture tank arrangement space, 6... Stirring device body, 7... Upper wall, 9... Rotating shaft, 10... …
Lower wall portion, 11...Culture tank fixture, 12...Table body, 28...Support body.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] It has a culture tank having a stirring shaft, a culture tank arrangement space in which the culture tank is placed, and a rotating shaft that is removably connected to the stirring shaft of the culture tank and rotates the stirring shaft above the space. a stirring device main body rotatably mounted on a wall, and a table body on which the culture tank is placed is rotatably pivoted on the lower wall of the space of the main body near one front corner of the table body. a support body which is arranged so that the table body can move back and forth between the space and the outside, and which is attached to a rear part of the table body so as to be able to move back and forth, and supports and positions the culture tank; , a belt whose proximal end is removably attached to one end of the support, and which fixes the culture tank to the support by wrapping it around the culture tank and fixing the distal end to the support. A stirring culture device characterized in that a fixing device is disposed on the table body.