Workpiece seating plate, workpiece, and cell culture system

Abstract

To suppress occurrence of sealing failure of an automatically conveyed workpiece without making a configuration complicated.SOLUTION: A workpiece seating plate is detachable from a top face of a tray of a heat sealer, and on which a workpiece body heat-sealed by the heat sealer is mounted, and the plate comprises: a mounting part having a support face which supports the workpiece body from below; a base part which is mountable on a top face of the tray; a positioning part which performs positioning to the tray; and a part to be supported which is positioned above the base part, and can be supported from below by a conveying device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a workbench plate, a work, and a cell culture system.

Background Art

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a cell culture system for culturing cells of microfluidics using a well plate. In this Patent Document 1, in order to automate operations such as heating, a manifold is used to inject cells into each well of the well plate.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] By the way, in a cell culture system such as Patent Document 1, the surface of a work such as a well plate may be heat-sealed with a film made of a synthetic resin, aluminum, or the like. In such heat-sealing, it is necessary to accurately place a work such as a well plate on the tray of a heat sealer so that sealing failure does not occur. However, when trying to automatically convey a work such as a well plate and accurately place it on the tray of a heat sealer, there is a problem that the configuration may become complicated, such as the need for a sensor or the like for detecting the position of the work.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made to solve the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a workbench plate, a work, and a cell culture system capable of suppressing the occurrence of sealing failure of an automatically conveyed work without complicating the configuration.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] A workbench plate according to an aspect of the present disclosure is a workbench plate that is detachable from the upper surface of a tray of a heat sealer and on which a work body to be heat-sealed by the heat sealer is placed. The workbench plate includes a placement portion having a support surface for supporting the work body from below, a base portion that can be placed on the upper surface of the tray, a positioning portion for positioning with respect to the tray, and a supported portion that is located above the base portion and can be supported by a conveying device from below.

[0007] A work according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes the above workbench plate, the work body placed on the workbench plate, and a work tray that supports the work body and the workbench plate from below.

[0008] A cell culture system according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes an incubator having a culture area for growing cells in a culture solution, and a clean bench having a liquid operation area for performing a dispensing operation on the above work. The cell culture system includes a conveying device provided on the clean bench for conveying the workbench plate on which the work body is placed, and a heat sealer provided on the clean bench for heat-sealing the work body placed on the upper surface of the tray via the workbench plate.

Advantages of the Invention

[0009] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of sealing defects without complicating the configuration.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0010]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0011] <First Embodiment> Hereinafter, the first embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5. The cell culture system 100 of the present embodiment is a system for performing cell culture and analysis of cells after culture unmanned and automatically.

[0012] <Cell Culture System> As shown in FIG. 1, the cell culture system 100 of the present embodiment includes a stocker 110, an incubator 130, a clean bench 140, and a pass box 150.

[0013] <Stocker> The stocker 110 is a facility for storing a plurality of works W used in the incubator 130 and the clean bench 140. The stocker 110 includes a stocker main body 111 that forms a storage area R1 inside, a work storage device 112 disposed in the storage area R1 capable of storing a plurality of works W, and a transport device (not shown) capable of taking out the work W stored in the work storage device 112 and transporting it to the clean bench 140. Here, the work W includes at least a work main body such as a flask (not shown) and a well plate (described later), and a work tray (described later) that supports the work main body. One work W may include a plurality of work main bodies of the same type.

[0014] <Incubator> The incubator 130 is a facility for growing cells in a culture solution. The incubator 130 forms a culture area R3 that is controlled to a temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide concentration suitable for cell culture. In the culture area R3 of the incubator 130, for example, a plurality of shaking stages (not shown) are provided. The shaking stage is configured to be able to shake the workpiece W including the flask containing the culture solution. The incubator 130 has a transport device (not shown) for automatically transporting the workpiece W within the culture area R3.

[0015] <Clean bench> The clean bench 140 performs various operations and processes on the workpiece W, such as dispensing operations and extraction of waste liquid. Inside the clean bench 140, a liquid operation area R4, which is a highly clean and aseptic space, is formed. The clean bench 140 has a transport device such as a transport device 113 for automatically transporting the workpiece W within the liquid operation area R4. In the liquid operation area R4 of the clean bench 140 of the present embodiment, a heat sealer 10 for automatically performing heat sealing on the workpiece body such as a well plate or a deep well plate is provided.

[0016] <Pass box> The pass box 150 is provided between the incubator 130 and the clean bench 140. The workpiece W is transferred between the culture area R3 and the liquid operation area R4 through this pass box 150. The pass box 150 has a first door 150a and a second door 150b.

[0017] The first door 150a switches between the communication state and the non-communication state between the space inside the pass box 150 and the culture area R3. The second door 150b switches between the communication state and the non-communication state between the space inside the pass box 150 and the liquid operation area R4. These first door 150a and second door 150b are not simultaneously in the open state, and thus the culture area R3 and the liquid operation area R4 do not communicate directly.

[0018] <Schematic operation of the cell culture system> In the cell culture system 100 configured as described above, cell growth is promoted by shaking the culture solution in the flask of the work W in the incubator 130. The work W in which cell growth has progressed is transferred to the liquid operation area R4 via the pass box 150. In the liquid operation area R4, the culture solution in the flask of the work W is dispensed, or a medium is supplied into the flask.

[0019] On the other hand, when cell growth is performed using a new work W, for example, the following procedure is carried out. First, a new work W including a flask is taken out from the work storage device 112 and conveyed into the liquid operation area R4. In the liquid operation area R4, a medium is supplied to the flask of the new work W that does not contain the culture solution, and the culture solution is dispensed from the flask of the work W transferred from the liquid operation area R4 containing the grown culture solution in which cell growth has progressed, into the flask of the new work W. Thereby, the operation of transferring cells to the new work W is completed. The new work W that has undergone the transfer operation is transferred to the incubator 130, cell growth is performed, and the above-described processing is repeated.

[0020] <Heat sealer> FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a heat sealer according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 2, the heat sealer 10 is a device that performs heat sealing on a work body 21 such as a well plate or a deep well plate. The heat sealer 10 includes a device body 11 and a tray 12.

[0021] The tray 12 supports the work body 21 to be heat-sealed by the heat sealer 10 from below. The tray 12 is, for example, slidable in the horizontal direction. Specifically, the tray 12 is displaceable between a first position (see FIG. 2) disposed outside the device body 11 where the work body 21 can be placed from above and a second position (not shown) where heat sealing is performed inside the device body 11.

[0022] The apparatus main body 11 covers the upper surface of the work main body 21 placed on the tray 12 in the second position with a film 13 made of synthetic resin, aluminum, or the like, and heats and presses the entire film 13 from above with a pusher 14 to weld and seal the film 13 to the work main body 21. When the heat sealing is completed, the tray 12 moves from the second position to the first position. Then, the heat-sealed work main body 21 is conveyed by a conveying device 113 (see FIG. 1) provided on the clean bench 140.

[0023] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a state in which a work main body and a work pedestal plate in an embodiment of the present disclosure are placed on a tray. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a tray and a work pedestal plate in an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line V-V of FIG. 3. <Tray> As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the tray 12 of the present embodiment has a rectangular shape when viewed from above and is slidable in the longitudinal direction Dl of the rectangular shape. The work main body 21 illustrated in the description of the present embodiment is a rectangular well plate 21A when viewed from above. And the shape of the tray 12 when viewed from above forms a rectangular shape that is the same as or slightly larger than this rectangular well plate 21A. The tray 12 includes a tray main body 15 and positioning pins 16.

[0024] The tray main body 15 has a flat plate shape having a smooth upper surface 15a. The pins 16 project upward in the vertical direction Dv from the upper surface 15a of the tray main body 15. In the present embodiment, a plurality (more specifically, two) of the pins 16 are provided spaced apart in the width direction Dw of the tray main body 15. Further, the upper portions of these plurality of pins 16 are tapered upward. Note that the shape and position of the pins 16 are not limited to the above configuration.

[0025] <Well plate> The well plate 21A of the present embodiment is formed of a synthetic resin such as polystyrene. The schematic shape of the well plate 21A is in the form of a plate whose size in the vertical direction Dv is smaller than the sizes in the width direction Dw and the longitudinal direction Dl. As shown in FIG. 5, the well plate 21A includes at least a plurality of well portions 32, a connecting portion 33, and an outer peripheral wall portion 34.

[0026] <Well portion> As shown in FIG. 5, the plurality of well portions 32 are formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape extending in the vertical direction Dv and opening upward. In the present embodiment, the case where the well portion 32 has a so-called round bottom is exemplified, but it may have a V-bottom or a flat bottom. Also, the case where the well portion 32 has a cylindrical shape with a circular cross-section is exemplified, but it may have a cylindrical shape with a polygonal cross-section. The openings 32a of the plurality of well portions 32 are all formed at the same position in the vertical direction Dv. Similarly, the lowermost portions 32b of the plurality of well portions 32 are all formed at the same position in the vertical direction Dv. And the plurality of well portions 32 extend parallel to each other and are arranged, for example, at a predetermined interval in the width direction Dw and the longitudinal direction Dl.

[0027] <Connecting portion> The connecting portion 33 connects the plurality of well portions 32 to each other and also connects the plurality of well portions 32 and the outer peripheral wall portion 34. The connecting portion 33 of the present embodiment is formed in a flat plate shape that horizontally connects the uppermost portions of the well portion 32 and the outer peripheral wall portion 34. The connecting portion 33 of the present embodiment has a rectangular contour that is long in the longitudinal direction Dl when viewed from above. Note that the connecting portion 33 is not limited to connecting the uppermost portions of the well portion 32 and the outer peripheral wall portion 34. For example, the connecting portion 33 may connect the intermediate portions of the well portion 32 and the outer peripheral wall portion 34 in the vertical direction Dv. Also, the connecting portion 33 only needs to be able to connect the well portion 32 and the outer peripheral wall portion 34 and is not limited to a plate shape extending in the horizontal direction. For example, the connecting portion 33 may be formed so as to completely fill the space between the well portions 32 and between the well portion 32 and the outer peripheral wall portion 34.

[0028] <Outer peripheral wall portion> The outer peripheral wall portion 34 is formed at a position spaced apart from the well portion 32 in the width direction Dw and the longitudinal direction Dl (see FIG. 4). The outer peripheral wall portion 34 is formed in a plate shape extending in the vertical direction Dv. The outer peripheral wall portion 34 of the present embodiment extends downward from the outer edge portion of the connecting portion 33. The outer peripheral wall portion 34 of the present embodiment is continuously formed in a full circumference so as to surround the well portion 32 and the connecting portion 33 from the horizontal outside. In the present embodiment, the position of the lower end 34b of the outer peripheral wall portion 34 in the vertical direction Dv is slightly lower than the lowermost portion 32b of the well portion 32. Note that the positions of the lower end 34b and the lowermost portion 32b in the vertical direction Dv may be the same.

[0029] <Work pedestal plate> As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the work pedestal plate 17 is a member on which the well plate 21A to be heat-sealed by the above-described heat sealer 10 is placed. This work pedestal plate 17 can be conveyed by the conveying device 113 in a state where the well plate 21A is placed, and can be placed on the tray 12 in a state where the well plate 21A is placed. As shown in FIG. 4, the work pedestal plate 17 includes a placement portion 22, a base portion 23, a positioning portion 24, and a supported portion 25.

[0030] As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the placement portion 22 of the present embodiment has a support surface 26 and a restricting portion 27. The support surface 26 supports the well plate 21A from below. The contour of the support surface 26 when viewed from above has a rectangular shape equivalent to the contour of the well plate 21A when viewed from above. The restricting portion 27 rises upward from the outer edge of the support surface 26 and suppresses the well plate 21A placed on the support surface 26 from shifting in the horizontal direction. The restricting portion 27 of the present embodiment includes a first wall portion 27a along the long side extending in the longitudinal direction Dl and a second wall portion 27b along the short side extending in the width direction Dw.

[0031] In addition, in the present embodiment, the case where the first wall portion 27a is formed in a part of the longitudinal direction Dl of the placement portion 22 and the second wall portion 27b is formed over the entire width direction Dw of the placement portion 22 is illustrated. However, the positions where the first wall portion 27a and the second wall portion 27b are formed only need to be positions where it is possible to suppress the horizontal displacement of the well plate 21A, and are not limited to the above positions. Further, in the present embodiment, the case where the regulation portion 27 suppresses the horizontal displacement of the well plate 21A is illustrated. However, the configuration for suppressing the horizontal displacement of the well plate 21A is not limited to this configuration.

[0032] <Convex portion> The support surface 26 of the present embodiment includes a convex portion 28. The convex portion 28 protrudes upward from the inside of the edge of the support surface 26. The convex portion 28 is formed so as to be able to press the well plate 21A placed on the placement portion 22 from below. The convex portion 28 of the present embodiment has a rectangular contour that is long in the longitudinal direction Dl when viewed from above. Further, the convex portion 28 has a plane 29 facing upward in the vertical direction Dv.

[0033] As shown in FIG. 4, the convex portion 28 illustrated in the present embodiment has a chamfered portion 30 obtained by linearly cutting out one corner of the rectangular shape. This chamfered portion 30 is provided for so-called positioning that sets the orientation of the well plate 21A placed on the placement portion 22 to a predetermined orientation. The well plate 21A has a key (not shown) that fits into the cut-out portion cut by the chamfered portion 30 only when the well plate 21A is placed on the placement portion 22 in a predetermined orientation. Note that the cut-out and the key may be provided as necessary, and the shapes of these cut-out and key are not limited to the shapes of the embodiment.

[0034] As shown in FIG. 5, with the well plate 21A placed on the placement portion 22, the convex portion 28 contacts the well plate 21A from vertically below the well portion 32. In the present embodiment, the flat surface 29 of the convex portion 28 contacts the lowermost portions 32b of the plurality of well portions 32 evenly. On the other hand, at this time, the convex portion 28 does not contact the outer peripheral wall portion 34 of the well plate 21A. Further, in the present embodiment, when the well plate 21A is placed on the placement portion 22 and not pressed from above by the pusher 14, the convex portion 28 contacts the well portion 32, while the outer peripheral wall portion 34 contacts the inner surface of the restricting portion 27 of the placement portion 22 and is slightly separated upward from the support surface 26.

[0035] <Base> The base 23 is supported from below by the tray 12. The base 23 has a lower surface 23b facing downward. Similar to the upper surface 15a of the tray 12, specifically, when the work pedestal plate 17 is placed on the upper surface 15a of the tray 12, the base 23 is supported from below by the tray 12. In the present embodiment, the size of the base 23 in the width direction Dw is smaller than the size of the tray body 15 in the width direction Dw. And when the well plate 21A is placed on the placement portion 22, the base 23 is arranged inside the outer peripheral wall portion 34 when viewed from above.

[0036] As shown in FIG. 4, the positioning portion 24 positions the tray 12. The positioning portion 24 of the present embodiment includes a positioning recess 24a into which the pin 16 provided on the tray 12 described above can be inserted. A plurality of the positioning recesses 24a are provided in the present embodiment. Further, the number of the positioning recesses 24a in the present embodiment is the same as the number of the pins 16, and more specifically, two are provided. These positioning recesses 24a include a first hole portion 24aa and a second hole portion 24ab. The first hole portion 24aa is not circular in plan view, and the second hole portion 24ab is formed in a long hole shape extending in the width direction Dw in plan view. Thereby, it is possible to easily position the workbench plate 17 with respect to the tray 12 while allowing assembly errors and machining errors of parts. In the present embodiment, a case where the positioning recess 24a is a hole penetrating the workbench plate 17 in the vertical direction Dv is illustrated, but it may be a non-penetrating hole.

[0037] The supported portion 25 is configured to be supported by the transfer device 113 from below. The supported portion 25 is located above the base portion 23. The supported portion 25 of the present embodiment protrudes outward in the longitudinal direction Dl from the restricting portion 27. Below these supported portions 25, it is possible to insert the hand portion 113h of the transfer device 113 from the width direction Dw. Further, the supported portion 25 of the present embodiment extends in the width direction Dw.

[0038] <Workpiece> FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a workpiece including a well plate in an embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 6, a new assembly in which the well plate 21A is placed on the placement portion 22 of the workbench plate 17 described above is stored in the stocker 110 (see FIG. 1) as a workpiece W while being supported by the work tray 40. The workpiece W including the well plate 21A includes a workbench plate 17, a workpiece body 21, a work tray 40, and a plate portion 44. In the following description, the workpiece W including the well plate 21A is referred to as a well plate unit W1. The new well plate 21A is stored in the workpiece storage device 112 in the form of the well plate unit W1.

[0039] <Work Tray> The work tray 40 supports the work body 21 and the work pedestal plate 17 from below. More specifically, it supports the work pedestal plate 17 on which the well plate 21A is placed from below. The work tray 40 of the present embodiment is configured to be able to stack two well plates 21A with different thicknesses in the vertical direction Dv. The work tray 40 has at least a base plate 41, a support portion 42, an upper placement plate 43, and a plate portion 44.

[0040] <Base Plate> The base plate 41 is the member disposed at the lowermost position in the work tray 40, and its lower surface forms a plane. The base plate 41 supports the upper placement plate 43 from below via the support portion 42. The base plate 41 has a flat plate shape that is larger than the well plate 21A in plan view.

[0041] <Support Portion> The support portion 42 is a rod-shaped member extending upward from the base plate 41. A plurality of support portions 42 are provided, and the upper ends of these plurality of support portions 42 are at the same height. In the present embodiment, a case where four support portions 42 are provided in one work tray 40 is illustrated. The number of support portions 42 provided in one work tray 40 may be three or five or more.

[0042] <Upper Placement Plate> The upper mounting plate 43 forms a mounting surface for mounting the well plate 21A. The upper mounting plate 43 is in the shape of a flat plate parallel to the base plate 41 and is supported from below by the support portion 42. The contour shape of the upper mounting plate 43 in plan view is rectangular with the operator's insertion direction as the longitudinal direction, similar to the contour shape of the base plate 41 in plan view. The size of the upper mounting plate 43 in plan view is the same as that of the base plate 41. The lower surface of the upper mounting plate 43 forms a supported surface for conveyance that is supported from below by a hand (not shown) of a conveyance device when the well plate unit W1 is conveyed by a conveyance device (not shown) in the stocker 110 or the like.

[0043] <Plate portion> The plate portion 44 extends upward from the work tray 40. The well plate unit W1 of the present embodiment includes two plate portions 44 having the same shape, and these two plate portions 44 are in the shape of flat plates extending upward from two edge portions 43a, 43b of the upper mounting plate 43 extending in the longitudinal direction Dl. These two plate portions 44 sandwich the well plates 21A stacked on the upper mounting plate 43 from both outer sides in the width direction Dw. The well plate 21A and the work pedestal plate 17 are movable in the vertical direction Dv between these plate portions 44.

[0044] <Movement of well plate> The well plate unit W1 configured as described above is taken out from the work storage device 112 and conveyed to the clean bench 140. Inside the clean bench 140, the workbench plate 17 on which the well plate 21A is placed is lifted upward and separated from the well plate unit W1. Then, after operations such as filtering and dispensing are performed, the upper well plate 21A among the multiple stacked well plates 21A is removed and conveyed to the above-described heat sealer 10. Next, the well plate 21A is placed on the tray 12 together with the workbench plate 17 by the conveying device 113, and the workbench plate 17 is positioned on the tray 12. Thereafter, the well plate 21A moves into the heat sealer 10 together with the tray 12, and the film 13 is heated and pressed by the pusher 14 to be sealed (heat-sealed). The heat-sealed well plate 21A is moved outside the heat sealer 10 and conveyed away from the tray 12 together with the workbench plate 17 by the conveying device 113.

[0045] (Function and Effect) According to the workbench plate 17 of the above embodiment, the base 23 can be placed on the upper surface 15a of the tray 12 of the heat sealer 10 while the work body 21 is supported from below by the support surface 26 of the placement portion 22. At this time, positioning can be performed with respect to the tray 12 by the positioning portion 24. In addition, the supported portion 25 located above the base 23 can be supported from below by the conveying device 113. Thereby, the work body 21 can be easily and accurately arranged with respect to the tray 12 of the heat sealer 10. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of sealing defects in the heat sealer 10 without complicating the configuration for automatically conveying the work body 21.

[0046] Furthermore, according to the workbench plate 17 of the above embodiment, the convex portion 28 protrudes upward from the inner side of the outer edge of the support surface 26, and the work main body 21 can be pressed from below. Therefore, by pressing from above with the pusher 14 of the heat sealer 10, while deflecting and releasing the portion of the work main body 21 located near the outer edge of the support surface 26 downward, the portion located inside the outer edge of the support surface 26 can be pinched and pressed from both above and below. Therefore, even when the size in the vertical direction Dv in the vicinity of the outer edge of the work main body 21 is increased due to manufacturing variations or the like, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the compressive force acting on the portion inside the outer edge of the work main body 21. Thereby, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of sealing failure in the portion inside the outer edge of the work main body 21.

[0047] Also, in the above embodiment, the tray 12 includes the pins 16 protruding upward, and the positioning portion 24 includes the positioning recesses 24a into which the pins 16 can be inserted. Thereby, by inserting the pins 16 of the tray 12 into the positioning recesses 24a, the workbench plate 17 can be easily positioned on the tray 12.

[0048] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the work main body 21 is a well plate 21A formed of a synthetic resin in a plate shape with the vertical direction Dv as the thickness direction, and includes a plurality of well portions 32 recessed from the outer edge toward the inner side. The convex portion 28 is configured to contact the well plate 21A from directly below the well portion 32. Thereby, a compressive force can be uniformly applied to the openings 32a of the plurality of well portions 32. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the liquid injected into the well portion 32 from leaking and mixing with the liquid in other well portions 32.

[0049] Also, in the above embodiment, the contour of the well plate 21A as viewed from above and the contour of the convex portion 28 as viewed from above are both rectangular. Accordingly, when the contour of the well plate 21A as viewed from above is rectangular, the convex portion 28 having a rectangular contour can efficiently press a portion inside the outer edge of the well plate 21A over a wider range for heat sealing.

[0050] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the placement portion 22 includes a restricting portion 27 that extends upward from the outer edge of the support surface 26 and restricts the horizontal displacement of the work bodies 21, 21A. Thereby, it is possible to suppress the horizontal displacement of the work bodies 21, 21A with respect to the placement portion 22. As a result, the reliability of heat sealing of the work bodies 21, 21A in the heat sealer 10 can be further enhanced.

[0051] Also, in the above embodiment, the work W includes a work pedestal plate 17, a work body 21 placed on the work pedestal plate 17, and a work tray 40 that supports the work body 21 and the work pedestal plate 17 from below. Thereby, while the work pedestal plate 17 and the work body 21 can be transported and stored while being supported from below by the work tray 40, when performing heat sealing, the work pedestal plate 17 can be lifted and separated from the work tray 40, and the work pedestal plate 17 and the work body 21 can be placed on the tray 12 of the heat sealer 10.

[0052] Also, the cell culture system 100 of the above embodiment includes an incubator 130 having a culture area R3 for growing cells in a culture solution, and a clean bench 140 having a liquid operation area R4 for performing a dispensing operation on the work W. The clean bench 140 is provided with a transport device 113 capable of transporting the work pedestal plate 17 on which the work bodies 21, 21A are placed, and a heat sealer 10 provided on the clean bench 140 for heat-sealing the work bodies 21, 21A placed on the upper surface of the tray 12 via the work pedestal plate 17. Accordingly, in the cell culture system 100 that automatically transports the workpiece W, performs a dispensing operation using the clean bench 140, and grows cells using the incubator 130, the reliability of heat sealing for the workpiece W can be improved.

[0053] <Other Embodiments> As described above in detail with reference to the drawings for the embodiments of the present disclosure, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and design changes and the like within the scope not departing from the gist of the present disclosure are also included. In the above embodiment, the well plate 21A is described as an example of the workpiece body 21. However, as long as the workpiece body can be heat-sealed by the heat sealer 10, the workpiece body is not limited to the well plate. For example, a deep well plate or the like may be used.

[0054] In the above embodiment, the case where the support surface 26 of the placement portion 22 has the convex portion 28 has been described. However, if it is possible to stably press the film 13 against the peripheral edge of the opening 32a of the well plate 21A by the pusher 14, the convex portion 28 may be omitted.

[0055] In the above embodiment, the case where the convex portion 28 can be pressed from directly below all the well portions 32 of the well plate 21A that is the object of heat sealing has been described. However, the convex portion 28 may be configured to be pressable from directly below some of the well portions 32.

[0056] <Supplementary Note> The workbench plate, workpiece, and cell culture system described in each embodiment are understood as follows, for example.

[0057] (1) The work pedestal plate 17 according to the first aspect is detachable from the upper surface of the tray 12 of the heat sealer 10, and is a work pedestal plate 17 on which the work bodies 21, 21A to be heat-sealed by the heat sealer 10 are placed. It includes a placement portion 22 having a support surface 26 that supports the work bodies 21, 21A from below, a base portion 23 that can be placed on the upper surface of the tray 12, a positioning portion 24 that positions the tray 12, and a supported portion 25 that is located above the base portion 23 and can be supported by a transfer device 113 from below. Examples of the work body include a well plate and a deep well plate.

[0058] Thereby, the work bodies 21, 21A can be easily and accurately arranged with respect to the tray 12 of the heat sealer 10. As a result, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of sealing defects in the heat sealer 10 without complicating the configuration for automatically transporting the work body 21.

[0059] (2) The work pedestal plate 17 according to the second aspect is the work pedestal plate 17 of (1), and further includes a convex portion 28 provided on the support surface 26 and protruding upward from the inner side of the outer edge of the support surface 26 to press the work bodies 21, 21A from below.

[0060] Thereby, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of sealing defects in the portion inside the outer edge of the work body 21.

[0061] (3) The work pedestal plate 17 according to the third aspect is the work pedestal plate 17 of (1) or (2), the tray 12 includes a pin 16 protruding upward, and the positioning portion 24 includes a positioning recess 24a into which the pin can be inserted.

[0062] Thereby, by inserting the pin 16 of the tray 12 into the positioning recess 24a, the work pedestal plate 17 can be easily positioned on the tray 12.

[0063] (4) The workbench plate 17 according to the fourth aspect is the workbench plate 17 of (3), and includes a plurality of the pins 16 and a plurality of positioning recesses 24a into which the pins 16 can be inserted. The plurality of positioning recesses 24a include a first hole portion 24aa having a circular shape in plan view and a second hole portion 24ab having a long hole shape in plan view.

[0064] Thereby, the positioning of the workbench plate 17 with respect to the tray 12 can be easily performed while allowing for assembly errors and component machining errors.

[0065] (5) The workbench plate 17 according to the fifth aspect is the workbench plate 17 of (2), and the work bodies 21, 21A are plate-shaped formed of synthetic resin with the vertical direction as the thickness direction, and include a plurality of well portions 32 recessed from above downward inside the outer edge. The convex portion 28 contacts the work bodies 21, 21A from vertically below the well portions 32.

[0066] Thereby, since a force in the compression direction can be uniformly applied to the openings 32a of the plurality of well portions 32, it is possible to suppress the liquid injected into the well portion 32 from leaking and mixing with the liquid in other well portions 32.

[0067] (6) The workbench plate 17 according to the sixth aspect is the workbench plate 17 of (2), and the placement portion 22 further includes a restricting portion 27 that extends upward from the outer edge of the support surface 26 and restricts the horizontal displacement of the work bodies 21, 21A.

[0068] Thereby, it is possible to suppress the work bodies 21, 21A from being displaced horizontally with respect to the placement portion 22. As a result, the reliability of heat sealing of the work bodies 21, 21A in the heat sealer 10 can be further enhanced.

[0069] (7) The work according to the seventh aspect includes any one of the workbench plates 17 of (1) to (6), the work bodies 21, 21A, and a work tray 40 that supports the workbench plate 17 and the work bodies 21, 21A from below. Examples of the work include a well plate unit.

[0070] Thereby, while the workbench plate 17 and the work body 21 can be transported and stored in a state of being supported from below by the work tray 40, when performing heat sealing, the workbench plate 17 is lifted and separated from the work tray 40, and the workbench plate 17 and the work body 21 can be placed on the tray 12 of the heat sealer 10.

[0071] (8) The cell culture system 100 according to the eighth aspect includes an incubator 130 having a culture area R3 for growing cells in a culture solution, a clean bench 140 having a liquid operation area R4 for performing a dispensing operation on the work of (7), a transport device 113 provided on the clean bench 140 and capable of transporting the workbench plate 17 on which the work bodies 21, 21A are placed, and a heat sealer 10 provided on the clean bench 140 for performing heat sealing on the work bodies 21, 21A placed on the upper surface 15a of the tray 12 via the workbench plate 17.

[0072] Thereby, in the cell culture system 100 that automatically transports the work W of the stocker 110, performs a dispensing operation by the clean bench 140, and grows cells by the incubator 130, the reliability of heat sealing for the work bodies 21, 21A can be improved.

Explanation of Signs

[0073] 10…Heat sealer 11…Device main body 12…Tray 13…Film 14…Pusher 15…Tray main body 15a…Upper surface 16…Pin 17…Work table base plate 21…Work body 21A…Well plate 22…Placement part 23…Base part 23b…Bottom surface 24…Positioning part 24a…Positioning recess 24aa…First hole part 24ab…Second hole part 25…Part to be supported 26…Support surface 27…Restriction part 27a…First wall part 27b…Second wall part 28…Protrusion 29…Flat surface 30…Chamfered part 32…Well part 32a…Opening 32b…Lowest part 33…Connection part 34…Outer peripheral wall part 40…Work tray 41…Base plate 42…Support part 43…Upper placement plate 44…Plate part 100…Cell culture system 110…Stocker 111…Stocker body 112…Work storage device 113…Conveying device 113h…Hand part 130…Incubator 140…Clean bench 150…Pass box Dl…Longitudinal direction Dv…Vertical direction Dw…Width direction R1…Storage area R3…Culture area R4…Liquid operation area W…Work W1…Well plate unit

Claims

1. A work pedestal plate that is detachable from the upper surface of a tray of a heat sealer and on which a work body to be heat-sealed by the heat sealer is placed, comprising: a placement portion having a support surface that supports the work body from below; a base portion that can be placed on the upper surface of the tray; a positioning portion that positions the tray; a supported portion that is located above the base portion and can be supported from below by a conveying device; A work pedestal plate comprising.

2. The work pedestal plate according to claim 1, further comprising a convex portion provided on the support surface and protruding upward from the inner side of the outer edge of the support surface to press the work body from below. The work pedestal plate according to claim 1.

3. The tray includes pins protruding upward, The positioning portion includes a positioning recess into which the pins can be inserted. The work pedestal plate according to claim 1.

4. Comprising a plurality of the pins and a plurality of positioning recesses into which the pins can be inserted, The plurality of positioning recesses include: a first hole portion that is circular in plan view; a second hole portion that is elongated in plan view; Including The work pedestal plate according to claim 3.

5. The work body is in the form of a plate formed of a synthetic resin with the vertical direction as the thickness direction, and has a plurality of well portions that are recessed from above to below inside the outer edge. The convex portion contacts the work body from directly below the well portion. The work pedestal plate according to claim 2.

6. The placement portion further includes a restricting portion that extends upward from the outer edge of the support surface to restrict the horizontal displacement of the work body. The work pedestal plate according to claim 2.

7. The work pedestal plate according to claim 1, The work body placed on the work pedestal plate, A work comprising a work tray that supports the work body and the work pedestal plate from below.

8. An incubator having a culture area for growing cells in a culture solution, A clean bench having a liquid operation area for performing a dispensing operation on the work according to claim 7, Comprising A conveying device provided on the clean bench and capable of conveying the work pedestal plate on which the work body is placed, A heat sealer provided on the clean bench and performing heat sealing on the work body placed on the upper surface of the tray via the work pedestal plate. Comprising A cell culture system. ​

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