JPH049458B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an apparatus for automatically collecting feces and urine over time when performing metabolic experiments or measuring drug efficacy using animals.

[Prior Art] When developing pharmaceuticals, it is necessary to record the excretion patterns of administered materials and biological components from stool and urine in animal experiments.

Conventionally, in this type of experiment, experimental animals were observed and the time course of their defecation and urination was manually collected and recorded. For this reason, it is necessary for personnel to regularly observe the cages housing the experimental animals, but laboratory animals are prone to stress and stimulation when humans approach them, which easily disrupts their natural defecation and urination mechanisms. It was difficult to obtain accurate records of defecation and urination. Therefore, the cycle of stool and urine collection was usually done on a daily basis.

In order to obtain a record of the defecation of experimental animals without the need for humans to approach them, it is desirable to collect stool and urine automatically and over time. Devices that automatically dispose of feces generated when raising livestock etc. are disclosed in, for example, JP-A-54-103246, JP-A-55-48335,
It has been proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 56-21519, etc.
All of these devices are intended to dispose of waste feces, and are not intended to automatically collect and record feces and urine on an hourly basis in animal experiments. Nakatsuta.

Therefore, the applicant conducted an experiment in which a paper roll supply roll and a take-up roll were provided on a base, and a timer mechanism was used to advance the paper roll at regular intervals, and the paper was housed in a cage on the top of the base. We have developed a device to automatically collect animal excrement and urine, and have already proposed it in Japanese Patent Application No. 60-66430.

However, in the invention of this prior application, since an endless belt mechanism was used as the paper feeding mechanism, the device was complicated and costly, and slipping or misalignment could occur during paper feeding.

[Object of the Invention] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a device for collecting feces and urine from laboratory animals, which improves the paper feeding mechanism and allows easy adjustment of the tension applied to the paper during paper feeding.

[Structure of the Invention] The automatic collection device for laboratory animal feces and urine according to the present invention comprises a paper supply roll, a winding roll, a motor having a timer mechanism for driving the winding roll, and a winding paper supply roll, a winding roll, a motor having a timer mechanism for driving the winding roll, and a winding paper supply roll, a winding roll, a motor having a timer mechanism for driving the winding roll, At the bottom, there is a rotating roller that rotates together with the paper roll, and a paper presser that applies tension to the paper roll, and when protrusions formed on the rotating roller come into contact with each other, the paper roll is rolled up at regular intervals. Equipped with a limit switch that sets the limit to a certain area.

[Operations and Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention, since a timer automatically sends paper at regular intervals to collect feces and urine from laboratory animals, unnecessary stress and irritation are not caused to the laboratory animals. Experiments can be conducted in natural conditions.

In addition, if the lower roller installed on the paper feed roll side is equipped with a limit switch operating mechanism and an ink mark applying device, the length of the paper fed each time can be adjusted and ink marks can be added to the paper. It becomes easy to calculate the defecation time of the collected excrement and urine. Furthermore, time becomes clearer if you include meridian lines on the paper that indicate the area of movement.

In addition, the paper presser applies appropriate tension to the paper, so the paper does not slip or shift.
Accurate experiments can be performed.

[Preferred Embodiment] When implementing the present invention, the rotating roller that comes into contact with the bottom surface of the paper can prevent the paper from slipping if its surface has a high coefficient of friction, and two small rollers are used instead of a cylindrical roller. This saves space. The paper presser roller automatically applies tension.
The shape and size of the roller can be appropriately designed to obtain a tension suitable for the purpose. When a stronger tension is required, a paper presser using a slide show and a spring may be used.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an outline of one embodiment of the device of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view thereof. A base box 1 is made of plastic, for example, and a cage 2 is mounted on the top of the base box 1. It is placed. A demonstration animal 3 such as a mouse is housed in the cage 2, and the floor 4 of the cage is slatted or grid-like, and the feces 5 of the mouse 3 passes through the floor 4 and is rolled up into a paper roll. 1
It is configured to fall onto 0. Similarly, urine is collected by falling onto the paper roll 10 and being sucked up. A roll 11 for supplying the paper roll 10 is supported on one side in the longitudinal direction of the base box 1, and a roll 12 for winding is supported on the other side so as to be driven by a motor 17, which will be described later.

As shown in detail in the cross-sectional view of FIG.
3, and a support mechanism is adopted that allows for easy roll replacement.

The rolled paper 10 that has come out of the roll 11 passes between a pair of pinch rollers 20 and 30, and while being supported on both sides of the paper by guides 6 provided inside the base box 1, the paper roll 10 is accurately guided below the cage 2. It is designed so that it passes through. After passing under the cage 2 and collecting excrement, urine, etc., the paper roll 10 is wound onto a roll 12. The roll 12 is supported by inserting its shaft into the guide groove 8 formed on the inner wall of the base box.
A pinion 14 is attached to the side end, and the gear 1
5, it meshes with a pinion 16 attached to the drive shaft of a motor 17. Therefore, the motor 17
When energized, the roll 12 rotates via a gear mechanism and winds up.

The power supply to the motor is started at fixed time intervals by a timer 18, and is turned off by a command from a limit switch 31.

During this winding, the pinch rollers 20 and 30
Appropriate tension is applied to the paper roll 10, and the upper roller 20 is inserted from above into a groove of a support guide 21 having a vertical groove formed on the inner wall of the base box 1 with its shaft 22. Paper 1 under its own weight
It gives tension to 0. Therefore, this roller 2
As for the shape of 0, various types can be considered as will be described later. The lower roller 30 is supported by a shaft 32 on a bearing 7, and as shown in detail in FIG. It has been formed. Therefore, every time the roller 30 rotates once, the protrusion 33
is engaged with a limit switch 31 provided adjacently to cut off power to the motor. On the other hand, an ink fountain 35 is attached to the other side of the roller 30, and a pen 36 at the tip contacts the paper 10 to make a mark every rotation of the roller 1. By attaching this mark, the paper 10 after being rolled up
When testing animals, it is possible to accurately calculate the time taken to excrete and urinate.

In operation, if the experimental animal 3 is housed in the cage 2 and the timer 18 is set, the paper roll 10 will be fed a certain length at a certain time even in an unattended state, and the excrement and urine of the experimental animal will be fed. Can be collected. By inspecting the ink marks on the paper, the time and interval of defecation and urination can be determined.

Therefore, by arranging a plurality of such collection devices, it is possible to collect excrement and urine from a plurality of animals. At this time, one timer 18 can be used in common.

Also, the rolls 11, 12 and the roller 20 are attached to the base box 1.
Since the base boxes can be easily attached and detached from each other, the base boxes can be stacked together when transporting and storing multiple devices, which is very convenient.

Next, in another embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 5, the upper pinch roller 20 is similar to the previous embodiment, but the lower roller is replaced by two rollers 40, 4.
It is divided into 1. A projection 33 that engages with a limit switch is provided on the side of one roller 40, and an ink fountain 35 is attached to the side of the other roller 41. This configuration makes it possible to reduce the weight of the lower roller and achieve effective use of space.

Next, in another embodiment shown in FIG.
0 is similar to the first embodiment, but the upper paper pressing roller 25 is cylindrical. By employing this cylindrical roller, the weight of the roller can be increased and sufficient tension can be applied to the paper. In yet another embodiment shown in FIG. 7, a guide shoe 50 is used instead of the paper pressing roller, and this guide shoe 50 is pressed by a spring 51 to apply tension to the paper. With this configuration, by adjusting the strength of the spring 51, any desired tension can be applied to the web.

[Summary] Since the present invention is configured as described above, the feces and urine excreted by the experimental animals in the cage fall onto the rolling paper and are wound up at regular intervals. By rewinding the paper later and examining it, it is possible to accurately determine the number and amount of defecation, the number of urinations, and the amount of components in urine over time, making it useful for detailed metabolic experiments using animals and for measuring drug efficacy. Extremely useful.

In addition, since this fecal and urine collection is performed automatically without the use of human hands, a good environment can be maintained without giving unnecessary stimulation to the experimental animals.

In addition, in this example, the case where there is one cage was explained, but it is possible to arrange multiple cages horizontally using a wide roll of paper, or to arrange several bases or base boxes so that the same cage can be used. If controlled by a timer, stool and urine collection from a larger number of experimental animals can be performed automatically and over time. The paper presser roller that applies tension to the rolled paper has been improved to provide the optimal tension, which prevents the paper from slipping or shifting, allowing for more accurate experiments. be.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an outline of an embodiment of the device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view, FIG. 3 is a sectional front view of main parts, and FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing a lower pinch roller.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional front view showing another embodiment of the pinch roller, FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional front view showing still another embodiment of the pinch roller, and FIG. 7 is a paper pressing device using a guide shoe and a spring. It is a cross-sectional front view. 1...base box, 2...cage, 3...experimental animal,
5... Shit, 6... Guide, 10... Rolling paper,
11... Supply roll, 12... Winding roll,
14, 15, 16...Gear, 17...Motor, 1
8...Timer, 20, 25...Upper roller, 3
0, 40, 41... lower roller, 31... limit switch, 50... guide shoe, 51... spring.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A supply roll for the paper roll, a take-up roll, a motor with a timer mechanism that drives the take-up roll, a rotating roller located below the paper roll that rotates together with the paper roll, and a tension roller on the paper roll. feces of a laboratory animal, characterized in that it is equipped with a limit switch that causes the roll of paper to be rolled up in a fixed area at fixed time intervals by contact with a protrusion formed on a rotating roller. and urine collection devices.