Incubator

Abstract

The invention provides a culture box. The culture box comprises a box body, an air guide plate and a fan, the air deflector comprises a first section which is obliquely arranged, a second section which is horizontally arranged, a third section which is obliquely arranged and a fourth section which is vertically arranged, divides the closed space of the box body into an inner cavity and an outer cavity, and forms an air duct with an upper inlet and a lower outlet; and the fan drives gas to circularly flow between the inner cavity and the outer cavity along the air duct. According to the incubator disclosed by the invention, gas flows quickly through the air duct with the upper inlet and the lower outlet, so that the temperature and humidity in the incubator and the uniformity of gas concentration are improved, cells in the incubator can quickly obtain a proper living environment, and the yield and the culture efficiency of the cells are further improved; meanwhile, upward diffusion of microorganisms generated in the culture process is avoided, so that the safety of cell culture is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of incubators, in particular to an incubator. Background Art

[0002] With the continuous innovation and rapid development of life science and technology, human life and medical sciences are increasingly dependent on biological products. The traditional method of extracting biological products from animal tissues through biochemical technology can no longer meet the needs of the market. At present, cells are extracted from animal tissues and cultured on a large scale in vitro. Large-capacity cell factory incubators are suitable for large-scale culture and preparation of adherent cells, which can meet market demand. However, how to control the temperature, humidity and CO inside the incubator? 2 It is of utmost importance to quickly and accurately achieve the living environment of cells. The incubators of such large-capacity cell factories on the market generally have problems such as poor uniformity of temperature, humidity and gas concentration inside the incubator, which cannot provide cells with a stable and reliable living environment, and low cell survival rate and cell harvest rate. Summary of the invention

[0003] The object of the present invention is to provide an incubator having the advantages of improving the uniformity of temperature, humidity and gas concentration in the incubator, so that cells in the incubator can quickly obtain a suitable living environment, thereby improving the cell harvest rate, etc.

[0004] In order to solve the problems in the prior art, the present invention provides a culture box, comprising: a box body, an air guide plate and a fan;

[0005] The box body is hollow inside, the air guide plate is arranged inside the box body and along the top wall and the side wall of the box body, and the air guide plate divides the enclosed space of the box body into an inner cavity and an outer cavity to form an air duct;

[0006] The air deflector includes an inclined first section, a horizontally arranged second section, an inclined third section, and a vertically arranged fourth section, the first section is connected to the top wall of the box, the fourth section is connected to the bottom wall of the box, the second section and the top wall of the box have a first preset distance, and the fourth section and the side wall of the box have a second preset distance;

[0007] Among them, a plurality of air guide holes are provided on the first section and the fourth section, the inner cavity and the outer cavity are connected to each other through the plurality of air guide holes, and the fan is arranged in the outer cavity to promote the airflow to circulate between the inner cavity and the outer cavity.

[0008] Optionally, the air guide plate is formed by splicing an upper air duct plate and a back air duct plate.

[0009] Optionally, the upper air duct plate includes an integrally formed first section and a second section, and the back air duct plate includes an integrally formed third section and a fourth section; or

[0010] The upper air duct plate includes an integrally formed first section, a second section and a third section, and the back air duct plate includes an integrally formed fourth section.

[0011] Optionally, at least one air inlet is provided on the second section, and the air inlet is used to connect to an external air source;

[0012] The multiple air guide holes on the first section and the fourth section are arranged in an array, and the arrangement length is equal to the width of the inner cavity.

[0013] Optionally, the fan is a cross-flow fan, which is arranged at the corner between the back and the top of the box body, and the length of the blades of the cross-flow fan is the same as the width of the inner cavity.

[0014] Optionally, the first preset distance and the second preset distance are set according to the volume, ventilation frequency and set wind speed of the incubator.

[0015] Optionally, it also includes: at least one of a humidity sensor, a temperature sensor and a CO2 concentration sensor, wherein:

[0016] The humidity sensor, the temperature sensor and the CO2 concentration sensor are all arranged on the second section of the air guide plate.

[0017] Optionally, it also includes: a guide rail base, a bracket and a cell factory;

[0018] The guide rail base, the bracket and the cell factory are all arranged in the inner cavity, the guide rail base is fixed on the bottom wall of the box body, the bracket is slidably connected to the guide rail base, the cell factory is installed on the bracket, and the cell factory is provided with a first air port and a second air port. The cell factory is connected to the inner cavity of the incubator through the first air port and / or the second air port.

[0019] Optionally, the cell factory is a multi-layer structure, and the number of the cell factories is multiple; the multiple cell factories are independently arranged, or the multiple cell factories are connected in series in sequence via sealed pipelines.

[0020] Optionally, the incubator further comprises:

[0021] The door opening mechanism is connected to the door of the box body.

[0022] A heating device, located in the inner cavity;

[0023] A heat preservation device, located on the inner wall of the box;

[0024] A water tray is located in the inner cavity and close to the air guide hole of the fourth section.

[0025] As described above, the incubator of the present invention has the following beneficial effects: the incubator of the present invention allows the gas to flow quickly through the upper inlet and lower outlet air duct, thereby improving the uniformity of temperature, humidity and gas concentration in the incubator, so that the cells in the incubator can quickly obtain a suitable living environment, thereby improving the cell harvest rate and culture efficiency. In addition, the upper inlet and lower outlet air duct can reduce the risk of microbial contamination and improve the safety of cell culture. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] Figure 1 It is a three-dimensional diagram of the incubator of the present invention.

[0027] Figure 2 It is a side view of the incubator of the present invention.

[0028] Component number description: 1. Box, 2. Inner cavity, 3. Upper air duct plate, 4. Humidity sensor, 5. Temperature sensor, 6. CO 2 Concentration sensor, 7. Fan, 8. Back duct plate, 9. Water tray, 10. Frame, 11. Guide rail base, 12. Cell factory, 13. Air guide hole. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0030] The preferred embodiments described below are for example only, and those skilled in the art may think of other obvious variations. The basic principles of the present invention defined in the following description may be applied to other embodiments, variations, improvements, equivalents, and other technical solutions that do not deviate from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

[0031] Those skilled in the art should understand that, in the disclosure of the present invention, the orientation or position relationship indicated by the terms "longitudinal", "lateral", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", etc. are based on the orientation or position relationship shown in the drawings, which are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operate in a specific orientation. Therefore, the above terms should not be understood as limiting the present invention.

[0032] Embodiment 1

[0033] See also Figure 1 and Figure 2 The present invention provides an incubator, the incubator comprising: a box body 1, an air guide plate and a fan 7;

[0034] The box body 1 is hollow inside, and the air guide plate is arranged inside the box body 1 and along the top wall and the side wall of the box body 1. The air guide plate divides the enclosed space of the box body 1 into an inner cavity 2 and an outer cavity to form an air duct;

[0035] The air guide plate includes a first section (not shown) arranged obliquely, a second section (not shown) arranged horizontally, a third section (not shown) arranged obliquely, and a fourth section (not shown) arranged vertically, wherein the first section is connected to the top wall of the box body 1, the fourth section is connected to the bottom wall of the box body 1, the second section and the top wall of the box body 1 have a first preset distance, and the fourth section and the side wall of the box body 1 have a second preset distance;

[0036] Among them, a plurality of air guide holes are provided on the first section and the fourth section, the inner cavity and the outer cavity are connected to each other through the plurality of air guide holes, and the fan 7 is arranged in the outer cavity to promote the airflow to circulate between the inner cavity and the outer cavity.

[0037] Specifically, the air guide plate and the fan 7 are both located in the box body 1, the gas in the inner cavity 2 is sucked into the air duct by the fan 7, the air guide holes (numbers not shown in the figure) of the first section guide the gas to be inclined upward, and then the gas flows from top to bottom along the air duct, the air guide holes 13 of the fourth section guide the gas to a horizontal direction, and the gas re-enters the inner cavity 2.

[0038] The incubator of the present invention allows the gas to flow quickly through the air duct that enters from the top and exits from the bottom, thereby improving the uniformity of the temperature, humidity and gas concentration in the incubator, so that the cells in the incubator can quickly obtain a suitable living environment, thereby improving the cell harvest rate. At the same time, the flow of gas also speeds up the material exchange in the culture environment and improves the cell culture efficiency.

[0039] In addition, microbial contamination during cell culture is a very serious problem, which may have an adverse effect on cell growth and experimental results. Therefore, the design of the air duct must also consider how to reduce the risk of microbial contamination. In the incubator provided in this embodiment, the air duct adopts a top-in-bottom-out design. When the gas in the air duct flows from top to bottom, the microorganisms will follow the flow of the gas and settle downward, thereby preventing the microorganisms from diffusing upward. Moreover, when the airflow flows from top to bottom, it will disturb the microorganisms in the culture environment. This disturbance can destroy the biofilm of the microorganisms, causing the microorganisms to lose protection and eventually die. Thereby, the efficiency and safety of cell culture are improved.

[0040] Embodiment 2

[0041] Please continue reading Figure 1 and Figure 2 This embodiment also provides an incubator. The specific structure of the incubator in this embodiment is based on the incubator in the first embodiment, and includes the following more specific structure.

[0042] As an example, the plurality of air guide holes on the first section and the fourth section are arranged in an array, and the axis of the air guide holes is consistent with the thickness direction of the air guide plate. Preferably, the arrangement length of the plurality of air guide holes on the first section and the fourth section is equal to the width of the inner cavity.

[0043] As an example, the air guide plate is formed by splicing an upper air duct plate 3 and a back air duct plate 8.

[0044] In one example, the upper air duct plate 3 includes an integrally formed first section and a second section, and the back air duct plate 8 includes an integrally formed third section and a fourth section.

[0045] In another example, the upper air duct plate 3 includes an integrally formed first section, a second section, and a third section, and the back air duct plate 8 includes an integrally formed fourth section.

[0046] As an example, at least one air inlet (not shown in the figure) is provided on the second section, and the air inlet is used to connect to an external air source. After the gas provided by the external air source enters the inner cavity from the air inlet, it enters the outer cavity through the air guide holes of the upper air duct plate 3, and then returns to the inner cavity again after passing through the air guide holes 13 of the back air duct plate 8. That is, the gas entering the inner cavity flows through the air guide holes of the first section, the gap between the second section and the box 1, the gap between the third section and the box 1, the gap between the fourth section and the box 1, and the air guide holes 13 of the fourth section in sequence, and then returns to the inner cavity again, so as to flow in a directional circulation.

[0047] As an example, the incubator further has an air outlet (not shown in the figure), and the position of the air outlet is not limited; the air outlet is connected to a one-way valve (not shown in the figure); when the air pressure of the incubator reaches a set value, the one-way valve opens and the incubator is exhausted. Specifically, the air inlet and the air outlet can be both arranged in the second section of the air guide plate.

[0048] As an example, the number of the air inlets can be set according to actual needs. Preferably, in this embodiment, the number of the air inlets can be three, and the three air inlets can be used to connect and input three different gases, such as CO 2 , compressed air and N 2 .

[0049] As an example, the fan 7 is a cross-flow fan, which is arranged at the corner of the back and the top of the box body 1, and is a cylindrical structure as a whole, and the axis of the cylindrical structure is arranged along the width direction of the inner cavity. Preferably, the length of the blades of the cross-flow fan is the same as the width of the inner cavity.

[0050] As an example, the first preset distance and the second preset distance are set according to the volume, ventilation frequency and set wind speed of the incubator.

[0051] Specifically, the air volume required per hour in the incubator = the cross-sectional area of ​​the air duct (m 2 )×wind speed (m / s)*3600(s)=the volume of the incubator (m 3 )× ventilation times per hour (times / hour); the ventilation times are generally designed to be 200 times / hour. If the wind speed is too high, the noise will be very loud, so the wind speed is generally set below 6m / s.

[0052] As an example, the incubator may also include: a humidity sensor 4, a temperature sensor 5 and a CO 2 At least one of the concentration sensors 6, wherein

[0053] The humidity sensor 4, the temperature sensor 5 and the CO 2 The concentration sensors 6 are all arranged on the second section of the air guide plate.

[0054] As an example, the incubator may further include: a guide rail base 11, a support 10 and a cell factory 12;

[0055] The guide rail base 11, the bracket 10 and the cell factory 12 are all arranged in the inner cavity, the guide rail base 11 is fixed on the bottom wall of the box body 1, the bracket 10 is slidably connected to the guide rail base 11, and the cell factory 12 is installed on the bracket 10.

[0056] The cell factory 12 is provided with a first gas port and a second gas port, and the culture space in the cell factory 12 can be connected to the inner cavity 2 of the culture box through the first gas port and / or the second gas port. Specifically, the cell factory 12 can be connected to the inner cavity 2 of the culture box only through the first gas port, can be connected to the inner cavity 2 of the culture box only through the second gas port, and can be connected to the inner cavity 2 of the culture box through the first gas port and the second gas port.

[0057] As an example, if the first gas port and the second gas port are not connected to an external gas source, the cell factory 12 is connected to the inner cavity 2 through the first gas port and the second gas port; when the external gas source is connected to the cell factory 12 through a pipeline, one of the first gas port and the second gas port is for air intake and the other is for air outlet.

[0058] As an example, there are multiple cell factories 12 .

[0059] In one example, a plurality of the cell factories 12 may be independently provided.

[0060] In another example, a plurality of the cell factories 12 may be connected in series via sealed pipelines.

[0061] As an example, the incubator may further include:

[0062] A door opening mechanism (not shown), the door opening mechanism is connected to the door of the box body 1,

[0063] a heating device (not shown), the heating device being located in the inner cavity;

[0064] A heat preservation device (not shown), the heat preservation device is located on the inner wall of the box body 1;

[0065] The water tray 9 is located in the inner cavity and is used for water filling and humidification. The water tray 9 is close to the air guide hole 13 of the fourth section, and the airflow entering the inner cavity from the air guide hole 13 blows directly toward the water tray 9, which can increase the humidification speed of the incubator.

[0066] As an example, the box door is located at the front side of the box body, and the cell factory 12 can be taken in and out by opening the box door.

[0067] As an example, the heating device may include but is not limited to heating devices such as heating wires or heating rods.

[0068] As an example, the heat-insulating device may include a heat-insulating coating applied on the inner wall of the box body 1 ; of course, in other examples, the heat-insulating device may also be coated on the outside of the box body 1 .

[0069] Specifically, in this embodiment, two guide rail bases 11 are arranged in the incubator, each guide rail base 11 includes two linear guide rails arranged side by side, a frame 10 is installed on each guide rail base 11, and four cell factories 12 are placed on each frame 10, totaling 8 cell factories 12, each cell factory is a multi-layer structure (for example, 40 layers), each cell factory 12 is a separate individual, and is a closed culture space, and two small cylinders (i.e., the first air port and the second air port) arranged on the top thereof can be connected to a closed pipeline, and multiple cell factories 12 can be connected in series as a whole through a closed pipeline, and the water tray 9 is arranged on the two guide rail bases 11 The back of the inner cavity 2 is provided with a back duct plate 8 and the back duct, and discrete air guide holes 13 are provided under the back duct plate 8. The fan 7 is installed at the back and top corners of the inner cavity 2. The motor of the fan 7 is installed on the outside of the box body 1, so that the heat dissipation of the motor will not affect the temperature in the incubator. The upper duct plate 3 and the upper duct are installed on the top of the inner cavity 2. The outermost side (i.e., the first section) of the upper duct plate 3 is provided with discrete air guide holes. The air inlet, air outlet, humidity sensor 4, temperature sensor 5 and CO are arranged on the second section of the upper duct plate 3. 2 Concentration sensor 6.

[0070] The air duct of the present invention (i.e., the upper air duct and the back air duct) adopts a top-in and bottom-out design, which can prevent microorganisms from spreading upward, thereby improving the efficiency and safety of cell culture. Moreover, the arrangement length of the air guide holes and the length of the blades of the crossflow fan both cover the width of the entire inner cavity 2. This design can effectively ensure that the temperature, humidity, CO 2 The uniform and stable concentration further improves the cell harvest rate and culture efficiency.

[0071] It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the invention is not limited to the details of the exemplary embodiments described above and that the invention can be implemented in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential features of the invention. Therefore, the embodiments should be considered exemplary and non-limiting in all respects, and the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description, and it is intended that all variations falling within the meaning and scope of the equivalent elements of the claims be included in the invention. Any reference numeral in a claim should not be considered as limiting the claim to which it relates.

[0072] In addition, it should be understood that although the present specification is described according to implementation modes, not every implementation mode contains only one independent technical solution. This description of the specification is only for the sake of clarity. Those skilled in the art should regard the specification as a whole. The technical solutions in each embodiment may also be appropriately combined to form other implementation modes that can be understood by those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. An incubator, characterized in that: include: Box, air guide plate and fan; The box body is hollow inside, the air guide plate is arranged inside the box body and along the top wall and the side wall of the box body, and the air guide plate divides the enclosed space of the box body into an inner cavity and an outer cavity to form an air duct; The air deflector includes an inclined first section, a horizontally arranged second section, an inclined third section, and a vertically arranged fourth section, the first section is connected to the top wall of the box, the fourth section is connected to the bottom wall of the box, the second section and the top wall of the box have a first preset distance, and the fourth section and the side wall of the box have a second preset distance; Among them, a plurality of air guide holes are provided on the first section and the fourth section, the inner cavity and the outer cavity are connected to each other through the plurality of air guide holes, and the fan is arranged in the outer cavity to promote the airflow to directional circulate between the inner cavity and the outer cavity.

2. The incubator according to claim 1, characterized in that: The air guide plate is formed by splicing an upper air duct plate and a back air duct plate.

3. The incubator according to claim 2, characterized in that: The upper air duct plate includes an integrally formed first section and a second section, and the back air duct plate includes an integrally formed third section and a fourth section; or The upper air duct plate includes an integrally formed first section, a second section and a third section, and the back air duct plate includes an integrally formed fourth section.

4. The incubator according to claim 1, characterized in that: The second section is provided with at least one air inlet, and the air inlet is used to connect to an external air source; The multiple air guide holes on the first section and the fourth section are arranged in an array, and the arrangement length is equal to the width of the inner cavity.

5. The incubator according to claim 1, characterized in that: The fan is a cross-flow fan, which is arranged at the corner between the back and the top of the box body, and the length of the blades of the cross-flow fan is the same as the width of the inner cavity.

6. The incubator according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first preset distance and the second preset distance are set according to the volume, ventilation frequency and set wind speed of the incubator.

7. The incubator according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also includes: At least one of a humidity sensor, a temperature sensor and a CO2 concentration sensor, wherein: The humidity sensor, the temperature sensor and the CO2 concentration sensor are all arranged on the second section of the air guide plate.

8. The incubator according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also includes: Rail bases, racks and cell factories; The guide rail base, the bracket and the cell factory are all arranged in the inner cavity, the guide rail base is fixed on the bottom wall of the box body, the bracket is slidably connected to the guide rail base, the cell factory is installed on the bracket, and the cell factory is provided with a first air port and a second air port. The cell factory is connected to the inner cavity of the incubator through the first air port and / or the second air port.

9. The incubator according to claim 8, characterized in that: The cell factory is a multi-layer structure, and the number of the cell factories is multiple; the multiple cell factories are independently arranged, or the multiple cell factories are connected in series in sequence via sealed pipelines.

10. The incubator according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also includes: The door opening mechanism is connected to the door of the box body. A heating device, located in the inner cavity; A heat preservation device, located on the inner wall of the box; A water tray is located in the inner cavity and close to the air guide hole of the fourth section.

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