Apparatus and method for freeze thawing of thalli

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of biological product processing equipment, and discloses equipment and a method for freeze thawing of thalli, the equipment comprises a cavity, a refrigeration system, a temperature probe, a slide rail, a loading trolley and a control system, the cavity is provided with double doors and an air return wall; the refrigerating system comprises compression condensing units symmetrically arranged outside the cavity, circulating fans and evaporators symmetrically arranged on the two sides of the top of the cavity, automatic telescopic curtains are arranged below the circulating fans and stretch across the cavity, temperature probes are arranged on the inner wall of the air return wall, sliding rails penetrate through the bottom of the cavity, and rolling wheels are arranged at the bottom of the loading trolley and matched with the sliding rails; and the control system receives the temperature information to control the refrigerating system. The invention further provides a thallus freezing and thawing method, uniform control over the temperature field in the cavity and zero interference in the defrosting process are achieved through cooperative work and alternate defrosting of the double refrigeration units, and the thallus freezing and thawing method has the advantages of being easy and convenient to operate, automatic in the whole process, efficient in operation, safe in redundancy and the like.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of biological product processing equipment, and particularly relates to equipment and methods for freeze-thawing bacterial cells. Background Art

[0002] After freeze-thawing, the temperature of bacterial cells such as human growth hormone is at room temperature and needs to be cooled to below -20°C for storage. Currently, the commonly used traditional refrigerator storage method is to first pre-cool an empty refrigerator to below -20°C and then open the door to place the bacterial cells. However, this method has obvious deficiencies: Firstly, it is necessary to pre-cool the empty refrigerator to below -20°C and then open the door to put in the bacterial cells. This method not only causes uneven temperature distribution in the chamber, affecting the consistency of the freeze-thaw effect; moreover, the heat fluctuations generated during the defrosting process of the refrigerator will directly affect the storage temperature of the bacterial cells, thereby damaging the bacterial cell structure and product yield; more seriously, when the refrigeration system fails, the entire batch of bacterial cells will be scrapped due to temperature out of control, resulting in significant economic losses. In view of these technical defects, there is an urgent need to develop a freeze-thaw equipment that can achieve uniform control of temperature distribution and has a defrost isolation function to ensure the stability of the storage environment of bacterial cells, which has important value for improving the reliability and process efficiency of biological product production. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The present invention provides an equipment and method for freeze-thawing bacterial cells to solve the problems of poor temperature uniformity of the existing equipment, affecting the quality of bacterial cells and product yield during defrosting, and scrapping bacterial cells in case of failure.

[0004] To achieve the above object, the present invention provides an equipment for freeze-thawing bacterial cells, including:

[0005] An equipment body, in which a chamber is provided. A double-leaf door is provided outside the chamber. Symmetrical return air walls are respectively provided between both sides of the double-leaf door and the chamber, and return air louvers are provided below the return air walls;

[0006] A refrigeration system, which includes a compression condensation unit, a circulation fan and an evaporator. The compression condensation unit includes at least two units, which are arranged symmetrically outside the chamber. The evaporator includes at least two units, which are arranged symmetrically on both sides of the top of the chamber. The circulation fan includes at least two units, which are arranged symmetrically on the side of the evaporator facing the chamber, and an automatic retractable curtain is provided below the circulation fan, and the width of the automatic retractable curtain spans the chamber;

[0007] A temperature probe, which is arranged on the inner wall of the return air wall for collecting temperature information in the chamber;

[0008] A slide rail, which penetrates through the bottom of the chamber;

[0009] Loading trolley, with rollers provided at the bottom of the loading trolley, and the rollers matching the slide rails;

[0010] Control system, the control system is electrically connected to a temperature probe, a compression condensing unit, a circulation fan and an automatic retractable curtain, for receiving in real time the temperature information inside the cavity collected by the temperature probe, automatically adjusting the operating state of the refrigeration system according to the temperature information, and controlling the start-stop and air volume intensity of the circulation fan;

[0011] The control system is further used to receive a defrosting instruction and control the opening and closing state of the automatic retractable curtain according to the defrosting instruction.

[0012] Further, the refrigeration system includes two independent refrigeration units. Each refrigeration unit includes a compression condensing unit, a circulation fan and an evaporator. The control system is provided with a multi-condition switching logic. In the refrigeration stage, both refrigeration units are started simultaneously. In the constant temperature stage, one of the refrigeration units is alternately enabled, and the other is in a standby state to achieve energy-saving control and efficient operation.

[0013] Even further, the two refrigeration units are physically separated by a partition provided at the center of the top of the cavity. The partition extends longitudinally along the cavity, separating the evaporators and circulation fans on both sides into two independent refrigeration areas.

[0014] Further, the automatic retractable curtain automatically closes after the control system receives a defrosting instruction, for isolating the diffusion of hot and humid air currents, preventing the temperature fluctuation in the cavity from affecting the freeze-thaw effect of the bacteria, and at the same time maintaining the constant temperature of the cavity by another refrigeration unit.

[0015] Further, the number of the temperature probes is several, and the temperature probes are evenly arranged along the height direction of the return air wall for collecting the temperature information at different height positions inside the cavity.

[0016] Further, the loading trolley adopts a modular structure design. The loading trolley includes a detachable frame assembly, a tray support assembly and a roller assembly, which is convenient for loading, unloading and cleaning.

[0017] Further, the double-leaf door includes a front door and a rear door. The front door is located on the front side of the cavity, and the rear door is located on the rear side of the cavity. The front door and the rear door are oppositely arranged.

[0018] Further, a return air electric valve is provided in the return air channel formed between the return air wall and both sides of the cavity. A defrosting electric valve is provided on the inner wall of the return air wall corresponding to the upper part of the automatic retractable curtain, for optimizing the return air path and flow rate, reducing the ineffective circulation, and reducing the overall operating power consumption of the equipment.

[0019] The present invention also provides a method for freeze-thawing bacteria, including the following steps:

[0020] S1. Uniformly place the bacterial cells in bags on the loading trolley, and push them into the cavity along the slide rail from the front door to complete the feeding;

[0021] S2. Start two sets of refrigeration units, control the operation of the circulating fan, and reduce the temperature in the equipment cavity to the set value. After the temperature reaches the set value, enter the constant temperature stage;

[0022] S3. In the constant temperature stage, the control system alternately enables one of the refrigeration units to maintain the temperature, and the other is in the standby state to achieve energy-saving control and load balancing;

[0023] S4. When the control system monitors that defrosting operation is required, it issues a defrosting instruction. The control system controls the automatic retractable curtain to close to isolate the diffusion of hot and humid air flow. At the same time, the other set of refrigeration unit continues to operate to keep the cavity at a constant temperature, ensuring that the freeze-thaw effect of the bacterial cells is not disturbed;

[0024] S5. After the freeze-thaw is completed, move the loading trolley out along the slide rail from the back door to complete the removal of the bacterial cells.

[0025] Further, the set temperature is below -20°C.

[0026] Further, when one set of refrigeration system fails, the control system automatically starts the standby refrigeration system and issues an alarm message.

[0027] Furthermore, the cooling rate is adjustable to meet the control requirements for the ice crystal size during the freezing of the bacterial cells.

[0028] Generally speaking, compared with the prior art through the above technical solutions of the inventive concept, the beneficial effects include:

[0029] The equipment for cell freeze-thaw provided by the present invention adopts a dual refrigeration system with a design of one working and one standby. By alternating defrosting, temperature fluctuations are avoided. In combination with the intelligent control of the automatic retractable curtain, the working area is automatically isolated during defrosting, effectively preventing the heat during the defrosting process from affecting the temperature stability of the chamber. At the same time, the standby system can be seamlessly switched in case of failure, strongly guaranteeing the continuity of the freeze-thaw process and the quality of the cells. Moreover, the structure of the return air wall optimizes the air flow organization, effectively improving the uniformity of the temperature field in the chamber. An electric return air valve is set in the return air channel, enabling precise regulation of the air flow path and further enhancing the heat exchange efficiency and the stability of the cold quantity distribution. In addition, the heat dissipation of the refrigeration system is placed outside the chamber, which not only reduces energy consumption but also facilitates cleaning and maintenance. The design of the rail-mounted loading cart significantly simplifies the operation process, shortens the door opening time, further improves the work efficiency and reduces energy consumption. These improvements enable the equipment to show significant advantages in terms of freeze-thaw efficiency, temperature control accuracy, process adaptability, operation stability, energy conservation and environmental protection. The process time for freeze-thaw preservation is shortened from about 31 hours to about 16 hours, saving a large amount of time and improving efficiency.

[0030] In addition, the control system adopts intelligent logic to manage the refrigeration process: in the refrigeration stage, both sets of refrigeration systems and the circulation fan are started simultaneously for rapid cooling; in the constant temperature stage, it switches to a mode of one working and one standby, and defrosting is rotated, which is both energy-saving and avoids temperature fluctuations during defrosting; during defrosting, the retractable curtain corresponding to the evaporator is automatically closed, and the standby refrigeration system is started to maintain temperature stability, ensuring that the cell freeze-thaw process is in a precisely temperature-controlled environment throughout, further improving the reliability of the equipment and the consistency of product quality. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0031] To describe the basic content, basic features and basic connotations of this patent more clearly, more detailedly and more specifically, relevant picture descriptions are supplemented herein.

[0032] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the equipment for cell freeze-thaw of the present invention;

[0033] Figure 2 is the cooling time of a traditional refrigerator;

[0034] Figure 3 is the cooling time of the equipment for cell freeze-thaw of the present invention.

[0035] In the figure: 1, chamber; 2, refrigeration system; 201, compression condensing unit; 202, circulation fan; 203, evaporator; 3, automatic retractable curtain; 4, temperature probe; 5, rail; 6, loading cart; 601, roller; 7, double-leaf door; 8, return air wall; 9, return air louver; 10, electric return air valve; 11, defrosting electric valve. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0036] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail and completely below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of the specification. It should be noted that the described embodiments are only some examples of the present invention and do not represent all possible implementation manners of the present invention. Any other implementation manners obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0037] Embodiment 1

[0038] This embodiment provides a device for freeze-thawing of bacteria, and its internal structure is as Figure 1 shown, mainly including a device body, a cavity 1, a refrigeration system 2, a temperature probe 4, a slide rail 5, a loading trolley 6 and a control system.

[0039] The device body is internally provided with a closed cavity 1. Double-leaf doors 7 are respectively arranged at the front and rear of the cavity 1, specifically a front door and a rear door, which are oppositely arranged to form an independent access channel for loading and unloading of bacterial samples. Symmetrical return air walls 8 are respectively arranged between the two sides of the double-leaf doors 7 and the cavity 1. A return air channel is formed between the return air wall 8 and the side wall of the cavity 1 for guiding air circulation. A return air louver 9 is also arranged below the return air wall 8. A return air electric valve 10 is installed in the return air channel. A defrosting electric valve 11 is arranged on the inner wall of the return air wall corresponding to the upper part of the automatic retractable curtain. The setting of the electric valve optimizes the return air path and flow rate, reduces ineffective circulation, and reduces the overall operating power consumption of the device. The cavity 1 is used for temperature control treatment of bacteria to achieve the purpose of freeze-thawing.

[0040] The refrigeration system 2 includes two sets of structurally symmetric independent refrigeration units. Each refrigeration unit includes a compression and condensation unit 201, a circulation fan 202, and an evaporator 203. Among them, the compression and condensation unit 201 is installed outside the cavity 1 and is symmetrically distributed left and right, and is used for refrigerant compression and condensation; the evaporator 203 is fixedly arranged on both sides of the top of the cavity and is also symmetrically distributed, and is used to realize the evaporation heat exchange of the refrigerant. The circulation fan 202 is arranged on the side of the corresponding evaporator 203 facing the inside of the cavity 1 to introduce cold air flow into the cavity, realize cold air delivery and temperature balance, and form a forced circulation air flow to improve the heat exchange efficiency. The two refrigeration units are physically separated by a partition arranged in the center of the top of the cavity 1. The partition extends longitudinally along the cavity, separating the evaporators 203 on both sides and their supporting circulation fans 202 into two independent refrigeration areas. An automatic retractable curtain 3 is also provided below the circulation fan 202. The automatic retractable curtain 3 horizontally spans the internal space of the cavity 1. When the equipment enters the defrosting state, the automatic retractable curtain 3 closes, effectively isolating the evaporator heating area from the cavity working area, preventing the diffusion of hot and humid air flow into the cavity, and ensuring the stability of the cavity temperature. To achieve precise temperature control, several temperature probes 4 are also arranged inside the cavity 1, which are respectively arranged at different heights and positions on the inner wall of the return air wall 8, and are used to collect the internal temperature information of the cavity 1 in real time to ensure the accuracy of temperature control.

[0041] A slide rail 5 is penetrated and arranged at the bottom of the cavity 1 for guiding the movement of the loading trolley 6. The bottom of the loading trolley 6 is provided with rollers 601, which are precisely matched with the slide rail 5, facilitating smooth pushing. The loading trolley 6 adopts a modular structure design, which is convenient for manual or mechanized loading and unloading of the bacterial cells and is convenient for cleaning and maintenance.

[0042] The control system is electrically connected to the temperature probe 4, the compression and condensation unit 201, the circulation fan 202, and the automatic retractable curtain 3, and is used to receive the temperature information in the cavity in real time and automatically adjust the operating state of the refrigeration system 2 according to the set parameters. Among them, in the cooling and refrigeration stage, the control system starts both refrigeration units at the same time to increase the refrigeration rate; in the temperature maintenance stage, one of the refrigeration units is alternately enabled to operate through a multi-condition switching logic, and the other is on standby to achieve energy saving and equipment protection. When the equipment runs to the stage that requires defrosting, the control system controls the automatic retractable curtain 3 to close, shielding the hot and humid air flow area to avoid temperature disturbance to the cavity environment. At the same time, the temperature of the cavity is maintained stable by the other refrigeration unit that does not participate in defrosting, ensuring that the freeze-thaw effect of the bacterial cells is not disturbed.

[0043] Specific working process of the cell freeze-thaw equipment of the present invention: In the refrigeration stage, the control system starts the refrigeration system 2, the automatic retractable curtain 3 opens, the return air electric valve 10 is in the open state, and the defrosting electric valve 11 remains closed; the circulation fan 202 starts to operate, and cold air is sent out by the circulation fan 202, flowing from top to bottom, passing through the automatic retractable curtain 3 and entering the lower part of the cavity 1, and then being introduced into the two side return air channels through the return air louvers 9, flowing upward in the return air channels and returning to the inlet of the circulation fan 202, forming a stable and closed forced circulation air flow path to achieve rapid cooling inside the cavity 1. When the temperature inside the equipment drops to the preset temperature, it enters the constant temperature stage; in this stage, based on the multi-condition operation logic, the control system alternately enables one of the refrigeration units to maintain the temperature stability, and the other refrigeration unit is in the standby state to achieve the purpose of energy saving and equipment life management. During the continuous operation of the equipment, to ensure that the heat exchange efficiency of the evaporator 203 surface is not affected by frosting, the control system will enter the defrosting stage according to the preset defrosting cycle or real-time monitoring parameters; in this stage, the control system first controls the automatic retractable curtain 3 to close to isolate the cavity 1 from the defrosting area and prevent the hot and humid air flow generated during defrosting from diffusing into the cavity 1 and causing temperature fluctuations; at the same time, the return air electric valve 10 is closed, and the defrosting electric valve 11 is opened to guide the hot air flow to act on the evaporator area for defrosting treatment. After the defrosting process is completed, the automatic retractable curtain 3 will not be opened immediately. The control system first restarts the refrigeration system 2 to cool down. When the temperature in the area where the evaporator 203 is located drops back to the set value, the control system then sequentially opens the automatic retractable curtain 3 and the return air electric valve 10, and closes the defrosting electric valve 11 at the same time, and the system re-enters the normal refrigeration-constant temperature circulation process.

[0044] Embodiment 2

[0045] This embodiment also provides a method for cell freeze-thaw using the equipment of Embodiment 1, including the following steps:

[0046] S1. Place the cells evenly in bags on the loading cart 6, and push them into the cavity 1 along the slide rail 5 from the front door to complete the feeding;

[0047] S2. Start two sets of refrigeration units, control the operation of the circulation fan 202, and make the temperature inside the equipment cavity 1 drop to the set value. After the temperature reaches the set value, enter the constant temperature stage;

[0048] S3. In the constant temperature stage, the control system alternately enables one of the refrigeration units to maintain the temperature, and the other is in the standby state to achieve energy-saving control and load balancing;

[0049] S4. When the control system monitors that defrosting operation is required, it issues a defrosting instruction. The control system controls the automatic retractable curtain 3 to close to isolate the diffusion of hot and humid air flow, and at the same time, the other set of refrigeration units continues to operate to keep the cavity at a constant temperature to ensure that the cell freeze-thaw effect is not disturbed;

[0050] S5. After freeze-thawing is completed, move the loading trolley 6 out of the rear door along the slide rail 5 to complete the removal of the thallus.

[0051] As Figure 2 and Figure 3 shown, the traditional refrigerator freezing process takes 31 hours to reduce the central temperature of the thallus from -9°C to -20°C; while the method of the present invention only takes 16 hours to complete the temperature reduction from -5.5°C to -20°C. This comparison data fully proves that the present invention, through the coordinated operation of the dual refrigeration system, the top-supply and low-return air circulation design, and the intelligent temperature control strategy, significantly shortens the cooling time, indicating that its refrigeration rate and temperature uniformity are superior to traditional equipment, providing a more efficient and controllable technical solution for the thallus freeze-thawing process.

[0052] It should be understood that the specific embodiments described above are only used to explain the present invention and are not used to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the present invention shall be included within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. An apparatus for freeze-thawing of bacterial cells, characterized in that, including a device body, in which there is a cavity (1), on the outside of the cavity (1) there is a double-leaf door (7), on both sides between the double-leaf door (7) and the cavity (1) there are symmetric return air walls (8) respectively, and below the return air walls (8) there are return air louvers (9); a refrigeration system (2), the refrigeration system (2) includes a compression and condensation unit (201), a circulation fan (202) and an evaporator (203), the compression and condensation unit (201) includes at least two units, which are arranged outside the cavity (1) in a symmetric layout, the evaporator (203) includes at least two units, which are arranged on both sides of the top of the cavity (1) in a symmetric layout, the circulation fan (202) includes at least two units, which are arranged on the side of the evaporator (203) facing the cavity (1) in a symmetric layout, below the circulation fan (202) there is an automatic retractable curtain (3), and the width of the automatic retractable curtain (3) spans across the cavity (1); a temperature probe (4), the temperature probe (4) is arranged on the inner wall of the return air wall (8) for collecting the temperature information inside the cavity (1); a slide rail (5), the slide rail (5) penetrates through the bottom of the cavity (1); a loading trolley (6), the bottom of the loading trolley (6) is provided with rollers (601), and the rollers (601) match with the slide rail (5); a control system, the control system is electrically connected to the temperature probe (4), the compression and condensation unit (201), the circulation fan (202) and the automatic retractable curtain (3), for receiving in real time the temperature information inside the cavity (1) collected by the temperature probe (4), automatically adjusting the operating state of the refrigeration system (2) according to the temperature information, and controlling the start-stop and air volume strength of the circulation fan (202); the control system is also used for receiving a defrosting instruction and controlling the opening and closing state of the automatic retractable curtain (3) according to the defrosting instruction.

2. The equipment for cell body freeze-thawing according to claim 1, characterized in that, the refrigeration system (2) includes two sets of independent refrigeration units, each set of the refrigeration units includes a compression and condensation unit (201), a circulation fan (202) and an evaporator (203), the control system is provided with a multi-condition switching logic, starting both sets of refrigeration units simultaneously during the refrigeration stage, alternately enabling one of the sets of refrigeration units during the constant temperature stage, and the other set is in a standby state.

3. The apparatus for freeze-thawing of bacterial cells according to claim 2, characterized in that, the automatic retractable curtain (3) automatically closes after the control system receives the defrosting instruction, for isolating the diffusion of hot and humid airflows, preventing the temperature fluctuation of the cavity (1) from affecting the freezing and thawing effect of the bacteria body, and at the same time maintaining the constant temperature of the cavity (1) by another set of refrigeration units.

4. The equipment for freeze-thawing of bacterial cells according to claim 1, characterized in that, the number of the temperature probes (4) is several, and the temperature probes (4) are evenly arranged along the height direction of the return air wall (8).

5. The equipment for freeze-thawing of bacterial cells according to claim 1, wherein, the loading trolley (6) adopts a modular structure design, and the loading trolley (6) includes a detachable frame assembly, a tray support assembly and a roller assembly.

6. The equipment for bacterial cell freeze-thawing according to claim 1, wherein the double-leaf door (7) includes a front door and a rear door, the front door is located on the front side of the cavity (1), the rear door is located on the rear side of the cavity (1), and the front door and the rear door are arranged opposite to each other.

7. The equipment for cell body freeze-thawing according to claim 1, characterized in that, An air return electric valve (10) is provided in the air return channel formed between the air return wall (8) and both sides of the cavity (1). An electric defrosting valve (11) is provided on the inner wall of the air return wall (8) corresponding to the upper part of the automatic retractable curtain (3).

8. A method for freeze-thawing bacterial cells as described in claim 1, characterized in that, It includes the following steps: S1. Place the bacterial cells evenly in bags on the loading trolley (6), and push them into the cavity (1) along the slide rail (5) from the front door to complete the feeding; S2. Start two sets of refrigeration units, control the operation of the circulating fan (202), and lower the temperature in the equipment cavity (1) to the set value. After the temperature reaches the set value, enter the constant temperature stage; S3. In the constant temperature stage, the control system alternately enables one of the refrigeration units to maintain the temperature, and the other is in the standby state to achieve energy-saving control and load balancing; S4. When the control system monitors that defrosting operation is required, it issues a defrosting instruction. The control system controls the automatic retractable curtain (3) to close to isolate the diffusion of hot and humid air flow. At the same time, the other set of refrigeration units continues to operate to keep the cavity at a constant temperature, ensuring that the freeze-thaw effect of the bacterial cells is not disturbed; S5. After the freeze-thaw is completed, move the loading trolley (6) out along the slide rail (5) from the back door to complete the removal of the bacterial cells.

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, The set temperature is below -20°C.

10. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that, When one set of refrigeration systems fails, the control system automatically starts the standby refrigeration system and issues an alarm message.

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