Sterilization device for a culture medium

Abstract

The utility model discloses a kind of sterilization devices of strain culture material, including box, the inside intermediate of the box is provided with vertical baffle and is divided into two sterilization cavities, load assembly of culture material box is provided in sterilization cavity, airflow passage exists between the upper and lower ends of the vertical baffle and box, heat cycle device is provided between the upper end of the vertical baffle and box, high-temperature sterilization device is provided on the both sides of the box, by heat cycle device, stereoscopic penetration loading and omni-directional ventilation design, solve traditional sterilization device problem, make sterilization uniformity promote, heating fast, energy consumption is low, and miscellaneous bacteria kill rate is high, and modular structure is convenient for operation maintenance.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of microbial culture technology, and in particular to a sterilization device for microbial culture media. Background Technology

[0002] In the process of microbial strain cultivation, the sterilization of the culture medium is a crucial step, directly affecting the survival rate and cultivation effect of the strains. Proper sterilization effectively kills contaminating bacteria, insect eggs, and harmful microorganisms in the culture medium, providing a sterile environment for subsequent inoculation and growth. Existing microbial culture medium sterilization devices typically employ a single-chamber structure, using heating elements to sterilize the culture medium. However, traditional sterilization devices have revealed several technical shortcomings in practical applications:

[0003] (1) Traditional sterilization chambers are mostly rectangular straight-walled structures, lacking effective airflow guidance design. The hot air generated by the heating element can only flow within the chamber through natural convection or simple fan ventilation, easily forming dead air zones in the corners of the chamber, resulting in significant temperature differences in different areas of the culture medium. Especially when the culture medium load is large, the temperature difference between the culture medium located at the edge and center of the chamber can reach more than 20°C, seriously affecting the consistency of sterilization effect. This uneven temperature phenomenon may lead to incomplete sterilization in some areas, residual bacteria causing contamination in later cultivation, or overheating destroying the nutrients in the culture medium and reducing the survival rate of the strain.

[0004] (2) Existing devices generally place the culture medium in a single container or tray, forming a tightly packed layer of material. This loading method has two drawbacks: First, the culture medium is usually more than 30 cm thick, and when heating is done only from the top or sides, the heat must slowly penetrate to the bottom layer through heat conduction, resulting in a very slow heating rate (it takes 2-3 hours to rise from room temperature to sterilization temperature); second, the single container lacks a three-dimensional permeable structure, and hot air cannot penetrate the material layer from the bottom and sides, causing the interior of the culture medium, especially the central area, to remain at a low temperature for a long time. Actual measurement data shows that when the container height exceeds 50 cm, the temperature of the central material is 15-20 °C lower than that of the surface layer, forming a significant "sterilization blind zone".

[0005] (3) Traditional substrate placement devices (such as solid-bottomed trays and sealed containers) generally suffer from insufficient air permeability. Taking common stainless steel trays as an example, their bottom plates are mostly solid flat plates, and the side plates adopt a sealed structure, relying only on the tiny gaps between material particles to achieve limited gas exchange. This structure causes high-temperature hot air to only contact the surface of the substrate, while the deeper materials mainly rely on heat conduction to raise their temperature, with a penetration efficiency of less than 20%. For porous substrates such as sawdust and cottonseed hulls, although the surface temperature can quickly reach the sterilization requirements (such as 121°C), the temperature in the internal core area remains below 100°C for a long time, which cannot effectively kill thermophilic microbial spores (requiring 121°C to be maintained for more than 30 minutes). In addition, the sealed structure also makes it difficult for the water vapor generated during the sterilization process to escape, forming a local high-humidity environment, further hindering the penetration of hot air and potentially causing mold growth in the substrate. Utility Model Content

[0006] Purpose of the invention: The purpose of this utility model is to provide a sterilization device for microbial culture media.

[0007] Technical solution:

[0008] A sterilization device for microbial culture medium includes a box body. A vertical partition is provided in the middle of the box body to divide the box body into two sterilization chambers. A support component for the culture medium box is provided in the sterilization chamber. There are airflow channels between the upper and lower ends of the vertical partition and the box body. A heat circulation device is provided between the upper end of the vertical partition and the box body. High-temperature sterilization devices are provided on both sides of the box body.

[0009] Furthermore, the heat circulation device includes a circulation fan disposed between the top of the vertical partition and the housing, the circulation fan being connected to a drive motor outside the housing via a transmission shaft, and a sealed bearing being provided at the connection between the transmission shaft and the housing.

[0010] Furthermore, the box body adopts an arc-shaped transition design at the four corners of the cross section perpendicular to the vertical partition direction.

[0011] Furthermore, the supporting component includes a base plate, on which a supporting frame is provided facing upwards, and at both ends of the supporting frame are fixedly provided perforated support plates, the inner cavity of which is provided with a placement groove.

[0012] Furthermore, a slider is provided at the lower end of the base plate, and a groove is provided at the bottom of the box body corresponding to the slider.

[0013] Furthermore, the bottom of the culture medium box is provided with air guide holes corresponding to the through holes on the hollow support plate, and the side end of the culture medium box is also provided with air guide holes.

[0014] Furthermore, the load-bearing components in the two roasting chambers are an integrated structure.

[0015] Furthermore, the load-bearing components in the two roasting chambers are each an independent structure.

[0016] Furthermore, a door is hinged to one side of the enclosure, and a transparent observation window is provided on the door.

[0017] Beneficial effects: Through the heat circulation device, three-dimensional transparent loading and omnidirectional air permeability design, the problems of traditional sterilization devices are solved, the sterilization uniformity is improved, the temperature rises quickly, the energy consumption is low, the kill rate of miscellaneous bacteria is high, and the modular structure facilitates operation and maintenance. Attached Figure Description

[0018] Figure 1 This is a perspective view of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 2 It is the three-dimensional structure inside this utility model. Figure 1 ;

[0020] Figure 3 It is the three-dimensional structure inside this utility model. Figure 2 ;

[0021] Figure 4 This is a cross-sectional view of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 5 This is a perspective view of the culture medium box of this utility model. Detailed Implementation

[0023] To make the technical solution of the present invention clearer, the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0024] Example 1

[0025] like Figure 1-4 As shown, a sterilization device for microbial culture medium includes a housing 1. A vertical partition 2 divides the housing 1 into two sterilization chambers. A support assembly 3 for a culture medium box 6 is installed within each sterilization chamber. Airflow channels exist between the upper and lower ends of the vertical partition 2 and the housing. A heat circulation device 4 is installed between the upper end of the vertical partition 2 and the housing 1. High-temperature sterilization devices 5 are installed on both sides of the housing 1. The upper and lower airflow channels, in conjunction with the heat circulation device 4, form a cross-chamber hot air circulation path (flowing laterally from the upper channel and returning through the lower channel), ensuring more comprehensive hot air coverage.

[0026] Furthermore, the heat circulation device 4 includes a circulation fan 41 disposed between the top of the vertical partition 2 and the chamber 1. The circulation fan 41 is connected to a drive motor 43 outside the chamber via a drive shaft 42, and a sealed bearing is provided at the connection between the drive shaft 42 and the chamber. The drive motor 43 drives the circulation fan 41 to rotate at high speed via the drive shaft 42, forcibly driving hot steam from the top of one sterilization chamber through the upper gap of the vertical partition 2 to the other chamber, and then back through the lower gap, forming a three-dimensional circulating airflow of "upward delivery and downward return".

[0027] Furthermore, the chamber features an arc-shaped transition design at the four corners of its cross-section perpendicular to the vertical partition 2. This arc-shaped structure transforms traditional right-angle corners into smooth curved surfaces, reducing eddy current losses and dead-angle stagnation during hot air flow, improving airflow uniformity, effectively eliminating sterilization blind spots, and achieving seamless heat exchange within the chamber in conjunction with a circulating fan.

[0028] Furthermore, the supporting component 3 includes a base plate 31, on which a supporting frame 32 is mounted upwards. Perforated support plates 33 are fixedly mounted at both ends of the supporting frame 32. The inner cavity of the perforated support plate 33 has a placement groove 35. The perforated support plate 33 has a perforation gap of 15-20mm and an opening rate ≥30%, forming a three-dimensional, transparent supporting structure that allows hot air to directly penetrate from the bottom of the culture medium box 6. The placement groove 35 provides a limiting and fixing effect on the culture medium box 6, preventing shaking during sterilization and ensuring precise alignment between the air vents in the box and the through holes in the support plate. This increases the heat penetration efficiency from 20% for traditional solid trays to over 85%.

[0029] Furthermore, a slider 34 is provided at the lower end of the base plate 31, and a groove 11 is provided on the bottom of the housing 1 corresponding to the slider 34. The slider 34 and the groove 11 form a linear guide mechanism, enabling tool-free quick assembly and disassembly of the load-bearing component 3, significantly reducing the intensity of manual operation and time costs.

[0030] Furthermore, the bottom of the culture medium box 6 is provided with air guide holes corresponding to the through holes on the hollow support plate 33, and the side end of the culture medium box 6 is also provided with air guide holes. The bottom and side air guide holes form a three-dimensional through airflow channel, allowing hot air to penetrate the material layer from the bottom, left and right of the culture medium box 6 and directly contact the gaps between the culture medium particles. Compared with the traditional sealed container that only relies on surface heating, the heat exchange area is greatly improved.

[0031] Furthermore, the load-bearing components in the two roasting chambers are an integrated structure.

[0032] Furthermore, the load-bearing components in the two roasting chambers are each an independent structure.

[0033] The load-bearing components in the two sterilization chambers can be selected as integrated or independent structures according to the requirements: the integrated structure connects the load-bearing frames 32 on both sides through the bottom gap of the vertical partition 2 via the base plate 31, so as to realize synchronous push-in / pull-out, which is suitable for large-scale production scenarios of simultaneous sterilization of dual chambers; the independent structure has independent load-bearing components 3 on both sides, and the operation of one side chamber can be controlled separately to meet the flexible needs of small-batch experiments or different sterilization processes.

[0034] Furthermore, a door 12 is hinged to one side of the box body 1, and a transparent observation window 13 is provided on the door.

[0035] The embodiments described above are merely illustrative of several implementations of the present invention, and while the descriptions are specific and detailed, they should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make various modifications and improvements without departing from the concept of the present invention, and these modifications and improvements all fall within the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of this patent should be determined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A sterilization device for microbial culture medium, characterized in that, The box includes a housing (1), and a vertical partition (2) is provided in the middle of the housing (1) to divide the housing into two sterilization chambers. The sterilization chambers are provided with a support component (3) for the culture medium box (6). There are airflow channels between the upper and lower ends of the vertical partition (2) and the housing. A heat circulation device (4) is provided between the upper end of the vertical partition (2) and the housing (1). High-temperature sterilization devices (5) are provided on both sides of the housing (1).

2. The sterilization device for microbial culture medium according to claim 1, characterized in that, The heat circulation device (4) includes a circulation fan (41) disposed between the top of the vertical partition (2) and the box (1). The circulation fan (41) is connected to a drive motor (43) outside the box via a transmission shaft (42). A sealed bearing is provided at the connection between the transmission shaft (42) and the box.

3. The sterilization device for microbial culture medium according to claim 1, characterized in that, The box body adopts an arc-shaped transition design at the four corners of the cross section perpendicular to the vertical partition (2).

4. The sterilization device for microbial culture medium according to claim 1, characterized in that, The supporting component (3) includes a base plate (31), a supporting frame (32) is provided on the base plate, and hollow support plates (33) are fixedly provided at both ends of the supporting frame (32). The hollow support plate (33) has a placement groove (35) in its inner cavity.

5. The sterilization device for microbial culture medium according to claim 4, characterized in that, The bottom of the base plate (31) is provided with a slider (34), and the bottom of the box (1) is provided with a groove (11) corresponding to the slider (34).

6. The sterilization device for microbial culture medium according to claim 1, characterized in that, The bottom of the culture medium box (6) is provided with air guide holes corresponding to the through holes on the hollow support plate (33), and the side end of the culture medium box (6) is also provided with air guide holes.

7. The sterilization device for microbial culture medium according to claim 1, characterized in that, The load-bearing components in the two roasting chambers are an integrated structure.

8. The sterilization device for microbial culture medium according to claim 1, characterized in that, The load-bearing components in the two roasting chambers are each an independent structure.

9. The sterilization device for microbial culture medium according to claim 1, characterized in that, A door (12) is hinged to one side of the box (1), and a transparent observation window (13) is provided on the door.

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