Air conditioning system for clean room

Abstract

To provide an air conditioning system for a clean room capable of efficiently processing load heat quantity of an incubator.SOLUTION: A clean room includes: a first air supply part (blowout port 2, filter unit 3, air conditioner 4, supply air duct 5) for supplying air-conditioned air to a target space S; and a second air supply part (circulation duct 14, suction port 15, blowout port 16, air conditioner 17, filter unit 18) for sucking air from the target space S and supplying the air again into the target space S as air-conditioned air. The second air supply part processes load heat quantity of an incubation apparatus (incubator 9) that operates in the target space S.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an air conditioning system for a clean room. [Background technology]

[0002] In clean rooms (also called bio-clean rooms or biological clean rooms) used for various operations including the cultivation of living organisms such as microorganisms and cells, the indoor environment is kept clean by various mechanisms such as dust removal using filters and irradiation with ultraviolet rays to prevent biological contamination caused by unintended organisms being mixed into the target objects.

[0003] Examples of documents that describe technology for supplying clean air using an air filter and forming a bio-clean room include Patent Document 1 listed below. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-162210 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, such bioclean rooms are different from industrial clean rooms for producing electronic parts and the like in terms of the purpose of use and the objects handled, and therefore the two differ in several respects in terms of their configuration and operation. Specifically, the differences are, for example, the required ventilation rate and cleanliness, and one of them is the manner in which the equipment in the room operates. In industrial clean rooms, equipment such as production equipment and conveying equipment is installed in the room, and these equipment operates when work such as the production of electronic parts is performed, and does not operate when work is not performed. On the other hand, in bioclean rooms, due to the nature of the objects handled, the equipment in the room may operate even when no work is being performed. That is, when handling living organisms such as microorganisms, cells, and biological tissues in a clean room, for example, when performing work such as planting a culture medium or subculture, a clean bench or safety cabinet is used, and after the work is completed, the object is placed in an incubator and cultured. No work is performed in the clean room, and therefore equipment such as a clean bench (work equipment) is not operating, but the incubator, which is equipment for culture (culture equipment), is operating.

[0006] In other words, in an industrial cleanroom, the two main usage states are assumed to be "working (equipment is operating)" and "non-working (equipment is not operating)", but in a biological cleanroom, three states can be assumed: "working / cultivating (the first state in which the working clean bench and the culturing incubator are operating)", "non-working / cultivating (the second state in which only the incubator is operating)", and "non-working / non-cultivating (the third state in which none of the equipment is operating)". In addition, in the operation of a biological cleanroom, it can be said that the second state is particularly long.

[0007] Here, the specifications (rated air volume, etc.) of the air conditioning equipment that supplies conditioned air to the clean room are generally designed assuming the first condition above. The air conditioning equipment to be installed is, for example, an air conditioner that takes in outside air, adjusts the temperature and humidity, and sends it into the room, and is equipped with a filter unit on the outlet side to supply clean air into the clean room.

[0008] In such an air conditioning system, air is introduced to the clean room through a long duct, consuming a considerable amount of energy. Meanwhile, in a bio-clean room, the operating time is long during the second state in which the incubator is operating, and during that time, it is necessary to continue supplying conditioned air from the air conditioner to process the heat load caused by the operation of the incubator, which leads to an increase in power consumption associated with the operation of the clean room.

[0009] In view of the above circumstances, the present invention aims to provide an air conditioning system for a clean room capable of efficiently treating the heat load of an incubator. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] The present invention relates to an air conditioning system for a clean room, characterized by comprising a first air supply unit that supplies conditioned air to a target space, and a second air supply unit that draws in air from the target space and supplies it again as conditioned air into the target space.

[0011] In the air conditioning system for a clean room of the present invention, the second air supply unit can be configured to treat the heat load of at least some of the culture equipment operating in the target space.

[0012] In the air conditioning system for a clean room of the present invention, the second air supply unit can be configured to operate at a constant air volume.

[0013] In the clean room air conditioning system of the present invention, the second air supply unit is configured to supply conditioned air as clean air into the target space, and the air outlet of the second air supply unit can be positioned at a position to supply air toward the entrance / exit of an incubator installed in the target space or the space in front of that entrance / exit.

[0014] In the air conditioning system for the clean room of the present invention, the second air supply unit is configured to supply conditioned air as clean air into the target space, and the air intake port of the second air supply unit can be positioned next to the entrance / exit of an incubator installed in the target space. Effect of the Invention

[0015] The air conditioning system for a clean room of the present invention can provide the excellent effect of efficiently treating the heat load of an incubator. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic elevational view illustrating an example of the overall configuration of an air conditioning system for a clean room according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view of the embodiment of FIG. 1. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0017] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0018] 1 and 2 show an example of the form of an air conditioning system for a clean room according to the present invention. A filter unit (first filter unit) 3 is installed in an air outlet (first air outlet) 2 provided in a ceiling 1 of the target space S, and an air conditioner (first air conditioner) 4 is installed outside the target space S, and the outside air introduced here is adjusted in temperature and humidity and sent to the filter unit 3 through an air supply duct 5. The filter unit 3 is a device in which a filter such as a HEPA filter is arranged in the air flow path, and the air sent out from the air conditioner 4 passes through the filter unit 3 to remove dust and biological particles, and is sent out as clean air to the target space S below. The filter unit 3 may be configured as a fan filter unit (FFU) equipped with a fan in addition to a filter.

[0019] In this embodiment, the first air outlet 2, the first filter unit 3, the air conditioner 4 and the supply air duct 5 constitute a first air supply section, and by operating these sections, clean conditioned air whose temperature and humidity have been adjusted is supplied into the target space S.

[0020] Further, an exhaust port 7 is provided near the floor 6 of the target space S, and a portion of the air in the target space S is discharged from here. In this way, in the target space S, which is a clean room, clean air is supplied from the first air supply unit while indoor air that may contain dust and biological particles is appropriately discharged, thereby maintaining the cleanliness of the air in the target space S. Note that, although a configuration in which the entire amount of air taken in from the air conditioner 4 is outside air has been described here, for example, a portion of the indoor air may be taken in again by the air conditioner 4 and circulated.

[0021] In the target space S, equipment necessary for using the target space S, which is a bio-clean room, such as a clean bench, a safety cabinet, and an incubator, is appropriately installed. Here, a safety cabinet 8 and an incubator 9 are illustrated as examples of such equipment. Here, the safety cabinet 8 corresponds to a work equipment used when performing some work such as implanting or subculturing an organism (microorganism, cell, tissue, etc.) in a culture medium in the target space S, and the incubator 9 corresponds to a culture equipment used to culture an organism. Examples of work equipment include an isolator and a clean bench in addition to a safety cabinet. Examples of culture equipment include a shaker that shakes a culture vessel in addition to an incubator.

[0022] The incubator 9 is a device that forms a space for accommodating a target organism (animals, plants, or tissues or cells thereof, fungi, microorganisms, etc.) and keeps the inside of the space at a temperature suitable for the survival, growth, and reproduction of the organism. It is equipped with a housing that forms the space and a temperature control device that keeps the inside at an appropriate temperature. The housing of the incubator 9 may be a box large enough to accommodate a culture vessel such as a petri dish or a flask, or a large box tall enough for a person to enter and exit. In this embodiment, an incubator 9 of a type in which boxes of about several tens of centimeters are stacked in multiple layers is assumed. The housing of the incubator 9 is provided with an opening and closing entrance 9a for the entrance and exit of objects such as instruments and samples.

[0023] Furthermore, this embodiment is characterized in that in addition to the first air supply section (air supply section of the outside air introduction system) composed of the first air outlet 2, the first filter unit 3, the air conditioner 4, and the air supply duct 5, a second air supply section (air supply section of the circulation system) is provided to circulate air near the incubator 9. The second air supply section is composed of a circulation duct 14, an intake port 15, a second air outlet 16, a second air conditioner 17, and a second filter unit 18.

[0024] The circulation duct 14 forms a flow path extending from the floor 6 to above the ceiling 1 of the target space S, with an intake port 15 serving as an entrance located at a height near the floor 6 and a second outlet port 16 serving as an exit located on the ceiling 1.

[0025] For convenience, the portion of the circulation duct 14 from the suction port 15 near the floor 6 to the ceiling 1 is referred to as the upstream portion 14a, and the portion above the ceiling 1 is referred to as the downstream portion 14b. The upstream portion 14a forms a vertical flow path extending from the floor 6 to the ceiling 1, and the suction port 15 is installed at the bottom. In the example shown here, an incubator 9 of a type in which boxes of several tens of centimeters are stacked in multiple stages is provided in the target space S, and the upstream portion 14a is provided in a corner of the target space S near the incubator 9. The position of the suction port 15 provided at the bottom of the upstream portion 14a is next to the entrance / exit 9a of the incubator 9 at the lowest stage. The outlet side of the upstream portion 14a at the height of the ceiling 1 is connected to the inlet side of the downstream portion 14b above the ceiling 1, and the outlet side of the downstream portion 14b is connected to an outlet (second outlet 16) provided in the ceiling 1. That is, downstream section 14b first extends upward from the outlet side of upstream section 14a, which is at the height of ceiling 1, then turns back downward and extends to air outlet 16, which is at the same height of ceiling 1. In this way, circulation duct 14 connects suction inlet 15, which is provided at a height near floor 6, with air outlet 16, which is provided at the height of ceiling 1.

[0026] The second air outlet 16 is provided above the space in front of the entrance 9a of the incubator 9 (note that the second air outlet 16 may be provided at another position, for example, above the entrance 9a). An air conditioner (second air conditioner) 17 is provided midway through the downstream portion 14b of the circulation duct 14, and a filter unit (second filter unit) 18 is provided at the position of the second air outlet 16. The filter unit 18 is, for example, a medium-performance filter or a HEPA filter, and the air that passes through it is supplied as clean air to the space in front of the entrance 9a.

[0027] The type of filter in the filter unit 18 may be different between the first filter unit 3 and the second filter unit 18, for example, the filter of the first filter unit 3 may be a HEPA filter, and the filter of the second filter unit 18 may be a medium-performance filter. Basically, the cleanliness in the target space S is generally maintained by the first air supply unit, and even if biological particles such as mold occur in the target space S, most of them are considered to be attached to the surfaces of solid particles such as sand grains, so even if the filter provided in the filter unit 18 of this second air supply unit does not have the same performance as a HEPA filter, it is considered to be sufficient for the air purification performance described below.

[0028] Next, the operation of the above-mentioned embodiment will be described.

[0029] As described above, clean air is supplied to the target space S, which is a clean room, by the operation of the first air supply unit (first air outlet 2, first filter unit 3, air conditioner 4, and air supply duct 5). In addition, within the target space S, devices such as a safety cabinet 8 and an incubator 9 are operated according to the purpose.

[0030] In such a target space S, biological particles may be brought in when the entrance is opened and closed, or when people or objects enter and exit. In particular, in the incubator 9, mold spores may be captured by condensation on the temperature control mechanism, and may grow using the moisture of the condensation. Furthermore, in the incubator 9, a shaker may be operated to vibrate the culture, and even if not, vibrations may occur when the entrance 9a is opened and closed. The vibrations stir up biological particles that are retained on the surface of the floor 6 or at a height near it, causing the biological particles to become mixed into the target object such as the culture that should be kept clean. In other words, the incubator 9 used in the target space S is required to be clean for its intended use, but by its nature, it can be said to be a device that can cause biological contamination during operation.

[0031] Therefore, in this embodiment, in addition to a first air supply unit that supplies clean air to the entire target space S, a second air supply unit is provided that circulates air around the incubator 9 and purifies the air, thereby suppressing biological contamination that occurs during the operation of the incubator 9.

[0032] In the second air supply unit installed adjacent to the incubator 9, the second air conditioner 17 installed in the circulation duct 14 is operating, and as a result, air near the lower part of the entrance / exit 9a is sucked into the circulation duct 14 from the suction port 15. The sucked air passes upward through the circulation duct 14, and the temperature and humidity are adjusted as necessary by the second air conditioner 17, and then the air is sent out again as clean air from the second air outlet 16 to the target space S. In this way, the second air supply unit circulates the air while purifying it, using the inside of the circulation duct 14 and the space near the entrance / exit of the incubator 9 as a flow path.

[0033] In the incubator 9, biological particles such as mold may occur inside or may remain in areas near the height of the floor 6 inside and outside. Such biological particles may float around or be stirred up by the air currents caused by the opening and closing of the entrance 9a. The second air supply unit is configured to suck in air containing such biological particles from the suction port 15 adjacent to the entrance 9a by the operation of the second air conditioner 17. If the second air supply unit is not provided, the biological particles present near the incubator 9 cannot be removed from the air in the target space S until they are mixed with the air current and flow out of the exhaust port 7. However, in the first embodiment, the suction port 15 of the second air supply unit is provided near the incubator 9, so that the biological particles around the incubator 9 can be quickly treated. In other words, if the incubator 9 becomes a source of contamination, the biological particles are sucked in from the suction port 15 located next to the entrance 9a, and the diffusion into the target space S is suppressed. Furthermore, if there is a contaminant outside the incubator 9, biological particles derived from the contaminant are sucked in through the suction port 15 located next to the entrance 9a, thereby preventing them from entering the incubator 9. In this way, by arranging the suction port 15 next to the entrance 9a of the incubator 9, it is possible to strongly attract airflow and prevent biological particles from entering the incubator 9 and from diffusing biological particles from the incubator 9 to the outside of the incubator 9. In order to achieve such an effect, it is most preferable to set the distance between the entrance 9a and the suction port 15 to zero (to place the suction port 15 adjacent to the entrance 9a), but if this is difficult in terms of the arrangement in the target space S, they may be slightly separated, for example, about 1 m may be set as the upper limit of the distance between the entrance of the incubator and the suction port.

[0034] In addition, the incubator 9 contains objects such as cultures that should be avoided from biological contamination, and these objects enter and exit through the entrance 9a. When entering and exiting, there is a concern that biological particles may enter the incubator 9 due to the airflow generated by opening and closing the door, and the biological particles may adhere to the objects. That is, a cause of biological contamination in the incubator 9 is, for example, when an object is brought into the incubator 9, an airflow containing biological particles may be entrained with the object or the person carrying it. In this embodiment, an air outlet 16 of the second air supply unit equipped with a filter unit 18 is provided above the space in front of the entrance 9a, and air purified by the filter unit 18 is blown from here into the space near the entrance 9a. This makes it possible to suppress the occurrence and spread of biological contamination caused by the airflow containing biological particles entraining the object entering and exiting the entrance 9a.

[0035] Thus, in this embodiment, in addition to a first air supply unit that supplies clean air to the entire target space S, which is a clean room, a second air supply unit is provided that purifies and circulates air in a portion of the target space S (around the incubator 9).This second air supply unit collects biological particles around the incubator 9 and supplies purified air near the entrance / exit 9a of the incubator 9, thereby effectively suppressing biological contamination that may occur locally within the target space S.

[0036] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the air volume is shared between the first air conditioner 4 provided in the first air supply section of the outside air introduction system and the second air conditioner 17 provided in the second air supply section of the circulation system as follows: Rated air volume of the second air conditioner 17: Air volume capable of processing the heat load of the culture equipment (incubator 9) Rated air volume of the first air conditioner 4: remaining air volume (air volume to process the heat load of the work equipment (safety cabinet 8) and ensure positive pressure and ventilation rate throughout the target space S)

[0037] In a conventional air conditioning system for a typical clean room that does not have a second air supply unit and is equipped with only a first air supply unit, the rated air volume of the first air conditioner is set so as to process all the heat load in the room and ensure the necessary positive pressure and ventilation rate. In contrast, in this embodiment, the rated air volume of the second air conditioner 17 is set so as to process at least the heat load of the incubator 9.

[0038] As described above, in a bioclean room, three main operating states can be assumed: a first state (working / cultivating) in which the work equipment and the culture equipment are operating, a second state (not working / cultivating) in which only the culture equipment is operating, and a third state (not working / cultivating) in which none of the equipment is operating, and it can be assumed that the second state will last longer. Therefore, in this embodiment, in addition to the first air conditioner 4, a second air conditioner 17 of a circulation system is provided, and the second air conditioner 17 is made to handle the heat load of the culture equipment operating in the second state.

[0039] Considering the case where a certain amount of air is supplied to the target space S from the first air supply unit, which is an outside air introduction system, and the case where it is supplied from the second air supply unit, which is a circulation system, the energy required to transport the air in the former case is greater than the energy required to transport the air in the latter case. In general, when conditioned air is supplied to a bio-clean room, the proportion of the heat load related to the conditioning of the outside air to the total heat load is large, and in conditioning the outside air, it is also necessary to deal with the heat load due to the weather. Therefore, compared to the case where the load heat quantity in the target space S is entirely covered by the first air conditioner 4 provided in the first air supply unit, sharing a part of it with the second air conditioner 17 provided in the second air supply unit consumes less energy overall.

[0040] However, from the viewpoint of maintaining the quality of the air in the room, it is not possible to cover all of the heat load in the target space S with the circulation system. In particular, when a person enters the clean room and performs work using the safety cabinet 8 (the above-mentioned first state), a certain amount of ventilation is essential. Therefore, the remaining heat load after the heat load of the incubator 9 is distributed to the second air conditioner 17 is distributed to the first air conditioner 4, and the first air conditioner 4 is in charge of ensuring the positive pressure and ventilation rate of the target space S, thereby ensuring the function of the clean room while saving energy. In the clean room, the second state in which only the culture equipment is operating is long, so a high energy saving effect can be expected by distributing the heat load of the culture equipment to the second air conditioner 17.

[0041] Although the case has been described here where the second air conditioner 17 processes the heat load of the incubator 9, which is a culture equipment, the heat load of other culture equipment, for example, the heat load related to the operation of a shaker, may be designed to be covered by the operation of the second air conditioner 17 or may be allocated to the first air conditioner 4. It is sufficient that the second air conditioner 17 is able to cover at least the heat load of the incubator 9, which is a culture equipment.

[0042] Here, the second air conditioner 17 may be operated at a constant air volume, for example, when processing the load heat of the incubator 9. If only a culture device such as the incubator 9 is assumed as the device to be processed for the load heat, the second air conditioner 17 does not need to vary the air volume so much, and it is considered that the constant air volume can sufficiently process the load heat in the room, at least in the second state. Also, when both the first air conditioner 4 and the second air conditioner 17 are operated, if the air volume of the second air conditioner 17 is constant, the control of the first air conditioner 4 can be relatively simple when the first air conditioner 4 is operated to ensure the pressure and the number of ventilations. In this way, if the second air conditioner 17 is operated at a constant air volume, the system configuration can be simplified when constructing a clean room with first and second air supply units.

[0043] As described above, the present embodiment is provided with a first air supply section (air outlet 2, filter unit 3, air conditioner 4, intake air duct 5) that supplies conditioned air to the target space S, and a second air supply section (circulation duct 14, intake port 15, air outlet 16, air conditioner 17, filter unit 18) that draws air from the target space S and supplies it again as conditioned air into the target space S. In this way, part of the load heat in the target space S is shared by the second air conditioner 17 provided in the second air supply section, which is a circulation system, thereby making it possible to reduce energy consumption.

[0044] In the air conditioning system for a clean room of the present invention, the second air supply unit is configured to treat the heat load of at least a portion of the culture equipment (incubator 9) operating in the target space S. In this way, when the culture equipment is operating, the second air conditioner 17 treats the heat load of the culture equipment, thereby achieving a high energy saving effect.

[0045] In the air conditioning system for a clean room of the present invention, the second air supply unit can be configured to operate at a constant air volume, thereby achieving the above-mentioned effects with a simple system configuration.

[0046] In the air conditioning system for a clean room of the present invention, the second air supply unit is configured to supply conditioned air as clean air into the target space S, and the air outlet 16 in the second air supply unit is disposed at a position to supply air toward the entrance / exit 9a of the incubator 9 installed in the target space S or the space in front of it. In this way, purified air is blown from the outlet 16 into the space near the entrance / exit 9a, thereby making it possible to suppress the generation and spread of biological contamination that accompanies the opening and closing of the entrance / exit 9a.

[0047] In the air conditioning system for a clean room of the present invention, the second air supply unit is configured to supply conditioned air as clean air into the target space S, and the air intake 15 of the second air supply unit is disposed next to the entrance 9a of the incubator 9 installed in the target space S. In this way, airflow containing biological particles that may be generated when the entrance 9a is opened and closed can be sucked in through the intake 15 disposed next to the entrance 9a, thereby quickly treating the biological particles around the incubator 9.

[0048] Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the heat load of the incubator can be efficiently treated.

[0049] Incidentally, the air conditioning system for a clean room according to the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and it goes without saying that various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0050] 2 Air outlet (first air outlet, first air supply unit) 3 Filter unit (first filter unit, first air supply unit) 4. Air conditioner (first air supply unit) 5. Air supply duct (first air supply section) 9 Incubator (culture equipment) 9a Entrance / exit 14 Circulation duct (second air supply section) 15 Intake port (second air supply section) 16 Air outlet (second air outlet, second air supply unit) 17 Air conditioner (second air conditioner, second air supply unit) 18 Filter unit (second filter unit, second air supply unit) S Target space

Claims

1. A first air supply unit that supplies conditioned air to the target space; a second air supply unit that draws in air from the target space and supplies it again as conditioned air into the target space; An air conditioning system for a clean room comprising:

2. The second air supply unit is The device is configured to process the heat load of at least some of the incubation equipment operating in the target space.

2. The air conditioning system for a clean room according to claim 1 .

3. The second air supply unit is configured to operate at a constant air volume.

2. The air conditioning system for a clean room according to claim 1 .

4. The second air supply unit is configured to supply conditioned air into the target space as clean air, The air outlet of the second air supply unit is disposed at a position for supplying air toward an entrance of an incubator installed in the target space or toward a space in front of the entrance.

2. The air conditioning system for a clean room according to claim 1 .

5. The second air supply unit is configured to supply conditioned air into the target space as clean air, The air intake port of the second air supply unit is disposed next to an entrance of an incubator installed in the target space.

2. The air conditioning system for a clean room according to claim 1 .

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