Filtering device

Abstract

To provide a filtering device that can suppress clogging at filtering part in filtering liquid.SOLUTION: A filtering device 10 is provided with: a container 20 that collects filtered liquid; a filtering body 40, arranged in the container 20, which stores liquid not yet filtered and has a filtering part 42 at an outer periphery part thereof; a driving part 34 that rotates the filtering body 40 with respect to the container 20; and a stirring body 50 connected to the container 20 and arranged inside the filtering body 40. The container 20 has a shaft part 55 that fixes the stirring body 50 to the container 20 unrotatably. When the filtering body 40 rotates with respect to the container 20, the stirring body 50 rotates relatively with respect to the filtering body 40.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a filtration device including a filter body for filtering a liquid such as a culture medium. [Background technology]

[0002] In cell culture, a sterile culture medium containing serum and other substances is required. For this reason, a filtration device is used to sterilely filter the culture medium. The filtration device, for example, has a capsule filter placed on top of a collection container. By passing the culture medium through the capsule filter, fine particles and contaminants in the culture medium can be removed.

[0003] In a filtration structure in which a culture solution is passed through a filter, the filter may become clogged with impurities, which may increase the pressure required to send the culture solution through the filter. As a filtration device that does not increase the pressure of the liquid being filtered, a device that performs filtration by centrifugal force, such as that disclosed in Patent Document 1, is known. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6374925 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Culture fluids may contain a large number of impurities, and if the filter in a filtration device becomes clogged, the liquid may not be able to pass through the filter, making it impossible to complete the filtration.

[0006] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and has an object to provide a filtration device that can suppress clogging in the filtration section when filtering a liquid. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] (1) A filtration device that achieves the above-mentioned object includes a container for collecting filtered liquid, a filter body that is placed in the container and contains the liquid before filtration and has a filtration section on its outer periphery, a drive unit that rotates the filter body relative to the container, and an agitator that is connected to the container and placed inside the filter body. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] In the filtration device configured as described above, the liquid inside the filter body is stirred by the stirrer and passes through the filtration section by centrifugal force, so that impurities adhering to the filtration section are lifted up by the stirred liquid, making it less likely that the filtration section will become clogged.

[0009] (2) In the filtration device of (1) above, the container may have a shaft portion that fixes the agitator to the container so that it cannot rotate, and the agitator may rotate relative to the filter body as the filter body rotates with respect to the container. In this way, by rotating the filter body with a drive unit, the filtration device can reliably agitate the liquid inside the filter body and suppress clogging in the filtration section.

[0010] (3) In the filtration device of (2) above, the container may have a lid member that closes the opening, and the shaft portion may extend from the lid member toward the filter body, with the agitator provided at the tip. In this way, by attaching the lid member to the container after injecting liquid into the filter body, the filtration device can dispose the agitator inside the filter body and agitate the liquid.

[0011] (4) In the filtering device of any one of (1) to (3) above, the agitator may have a blade portion, which allows the agitator to agitate the liquid efficiently in the filtering device.

[0012] (5) In any of the filtration devices (1) to (4) above, the agitator may include an opening that opens in the rotation axis direction of the filter body and a filter unit disposed on the outer periphery. This allows a portion of the liquid in the filter body to circulate through the opening, thereby disrupting the flow of liquid within the filter body and making the filtration unit less likely to clog. Furthermore, the filter unit can capture large impurities in the liquid before they pass through the filtration unit, thereby preventing clogging of the filtration unit.

[0013] (6) In any of the filtration devices (1) to (5) above, a base having the drive unit may be provided, and the container may have a rotary connector that connects the drive unit and the filter body when placed on the base. This allows the container to be easily attached to and detached from the base, and the container removed from the base can be used as a storage container for the filtered liquid. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the filtering device according to the present embodiment, showing the front side portion of the container body cut away. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a filtration device. [Figure 3] 1A and 1B are cross-sectional views showing the assembly process of the filtration device, in which (a) shows the state before the agitator is placed on the filter body, and (b) shows the state before the container body is attached to the base. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a filter body containing an agitator according to a modified example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0015] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that dimensions in the drawings may be exaggerated for convenience of explanation and may differ from actual dimensions. Furthermore, in this specification and drawings, components having substantially the same functional configurations are designated by the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations will be omitted.

[0016] The filtration device 10 of this embodiment is used to filter a cell culture solution. The type of culture solution is not limited, but examples include a culture solution for producing a sheet-shaped cell culture, such as a complete medium or a solution obtained by mixing a basal medium containing amino acids, vitamins, etc. with a liquid component (serum) containing proteins.

[0017] 1 and 2, the filtration device 10 of this embodiment includes a container 20 placed on a base 30 and a filter body 40 disposed within the container 20. The container 20 includes a cylindrical container body 21, a lid member 22 that covers the open surface of the container body 21 opposite the base 30, and a conical collection unit 24 that is disposed within the container body 21 and tapers toward the base 30. The collection unit 24 is disposed directly below the filter body 40 within the container body 21 and opens toward the filter body 40. Therefore, the collection unit 24 can receive and store the liquid filtered by the filter body 40.

[0018] The base 30 can have the bottom surface of the container body 21 placed on its peripheral portion. The base 30 also has a drive unit 34 in its center that rotates the filter body 40. The drive unit 34 can be configured with a motor. Note that the drive unit 34 is not limited to a motor as long as it can drive the filter body 40 to rotate.

[0019] The filter body 40 has a disk-shaped bottom portion 41 that does not allow the liquid inside to pass through, and a cylindrical filter portion 42 that allows the liquid inside to pass through by rotation, forming a space inside that can accommodate the liquid. The filter portion 42 can be made of a porous membrane, nonwoven fabric, or the like. Examples of materials for the filter portion include hydrophilic materials such as polysulfone, cellulose acetate, and nitrocellulose. Alternatively, the filter portion 42 may be formed by subjecting a hydrophobic filter made of a hydrophobic material such as polypropylene, polyethylene, polyester, or polytetrafluoroethylene to a hydrophilic treatment.

[0020] A rotary shaft 45 extending downward is fixed to the bottom surface 41 of the filter body 40. The rotary shaft 45 has a rotary connector 46 at its tip, which is connected to the connector 35 of the drive unit 34. The connector 35 and the rotary connector 46 have gear-like projections and recesses that mesh with each other. By engaging the rotary connector 46 with the connector 35 from above, the rotational force of the drive unit 34 can be transmitted to the rotary shaft 45. When the rotary shaft 45 is rotated by the drive unit 34, the filter body 40 can rotate relative to the container 20. The rotary connector 46 can be removed from the connector 35 by moving the filter body 40 upward. The filter body 40 may be detachable from the rotary shaft 45. This allows the filter body 40 to be easily transferred to another container or the like without the filter body 40 getting in the way.

[0021] A shaft portion 55 extending toward the filter body 40 is fixed non-rotatably to the lid member 22 of the container 20. The shaft portion 55 has an agitator 50 disposed inside the filter body 40 and a filter body lid portion 56 that closes the opening of the filter body 40.

[0022] The agitator 50 has multiple blades 51. Because the agitator 50 is fixed to the container 20, when the filter 40 rotates relative to the container 20, the agitator 50 rotates relative to the filter 40. As the filter 40 rotates, the blades 51 of the agitator 50 agitate the liquid contained inside the filter 40. As a result, the liquid inside the filter 40 is filtered by centrifugal force while being stirred. In this way, even if the liquid contains a large amount of impurities that are likely to clog the filtration section 42, the impurities adhering to the filtration section 42 are lifted up by the agitated liquid, making the filtration section 42 less likely to clog. Furthermore, because the liquid inside the filter 40 is filtered by centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the filter 40, even if the filtration section 42 clogs, the pressure of the liquid does not increase, unlike when the liquid is filtered by applying pressure to the liquid. This prevents filtration from being stopped midway due to an increase in liquid pressure.

[0023] As shown in Figure 3(a), the container 20 can be in a state where the lid member 22 is removed from the container body 21. By removing the lid member 22 from the container body 21, the opening surface of the container body 21 is opened, and the opening surface of the filter body 40 is also opened. In this state, the liquid to be filtered can be injected into the filter body 40 using an injection device 90 or the like. By attaching the lid member 22 to the container body 21, the agitator 50 is disposed inside the filter body 40, and the filter body 40 and the container body 21 are closed.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 3(b), the container 20 can be attached to the base 30 from above. By placing the container body 21 on the peripheral edge of the base 30, a rotary connector 46 provided on a rotary shaft 45 extending downward from the filter body 40 is connected to the connector 35 of the drive unit 34. When the drive unit 34 is operated in this state, the filter body 40 can be rotated relative to the container 20 via the rotary shaft 45. By lifting the container body 21 upward from the base 30, the rotary connector 46 and the connector 35 of the drive unit 34 are separated, and the container 20 can be removed from the base 30. After being removed from the base 30, the container 20 can be filtered and the filtered liquid can be stored in the collection unit 24.

[0025] A modified example of the agitator will now be described. As shown in FIG. 4, the agitator 60 has multiple radial portions 62 extending circumferentially from the tip of the shaft portion 55 toward the outer periphery. The spaces between the radial portions 62 are openings 61 that open in the direction of the rotation axis of the filter body 40. A cylindrical filter portion 63 is provided to connect the outer peripheries of the radial portions 62. The filter portion 63 is formed of a filter material with a coarser mesh than the filtering portion 42. As the agitator 60 rotates relative to the filter body 40, a portion of the liquid in the filter body 40 circulates through the openings, as indicated by the arrows in the figure. This disrupts the flow of liquid in the filter body 40 while centrifugal force causes the liquid to pass through the filtering portion 42, making it less likely to clog the filtering portion 42. Furthermore, a portion of the liquid in the filter body 40 passes through the filter portion 63, allowing large impurities in the liquid to be collected before passing through the filtering portion 42, thereby suppressing clogging of the filtering portion 42. The agitator 60 having the opening 61 may further have a blade portion inside the opening 61 .

[0026] As described above, the (1) filtering device 10 according to this embodiment includes the container 20 for collecting filtered liquid, the filter body 40 that is disposed within the container 20 and contains the liquid before filtration and has a filtering section 42 on its outer periphery, the drive unit 34 that rotates the filter body 40 relative to the container 20, and the agitator 50 that is connected to the container 20 and disposed within the filter body 40. In the filtering device 10 configured in this manner, the liquid inside the filter body 40 is agitated by the agitator 50 and passes through the filtering section 42 by centrifugal force, so that impurities adhering to the filtering section 42 are lifted up by the agitated liquid, making it possible to make the filtering section 42 less likely to become clogged.

[0027] (2) In the filtration device 10 described in (1) above, the container 20 may have a shaft portion 55 that fixes the agitator 50 to the container 20 so that it cannot rotate, and the agitator 50 may rotate relative to the filter body 40 as the filter body 40 rotates with respect to the container 20. In this way, the filtration device 10 can rotate the filter body 40 with the drive portion 34, thereby allowing the agitator 50 to reliably agitate the liquid inside the filter body 40 and preventing clogging in the filtration section 42.

[0028] (3) In the filtration device 10 described in (2) above, the container 20 may have a lid member 22 that closes the opening, and the shaft portion 55 may extend from the lid member 22 toward the filter body 40, with the agitator 50 provided at the tip. In this way, the filtration device 10 can agitate the liquid by placing the agitator 50 inside the filter body 40 by attaching the lid member 22 to the container 20 after pouring a liquid into the filter body 40.

[0029] (4) In the filtering device 10 of any one of the above (1) to (3), the agitator 50 may have a blade portion 51. This allows the agitator 50 of the filtering device 10 to agitate the liquid efficiently.

[0030] (5) In the filtration device 10 of any one of (1) to (4) above, the agitator 60 may include an opening 61 that opens in the direction of the rotation axis of the filter body 40 and a filter section 63 that is arranged on the outer periphery. This allows a portion of the liquid in the filter body 40 to circulate through the opening 61, thereby disturbing the flow of liquid in the filter body 40 and making clogging of the filtration section 42 less likely to occur. In addition, the filter section 63 can collect large impurities in the liquid before they pass through the filtration section 42, thereby suppressing clogging of the filtration section 42.

[0031] (6) The filtration device 10 of any one of (1) to (5) above may include a base 30 having a drive unit 34, and the container 20 may have a rotary connection unit 46 that connects the drive unit 34 and the filter body 40 when placed on the base 30. This allows the container 20 to be easily attached to and detached from the base 30, and the container 20 removed from the base 30 can be used as a storage container for the filtered liquid.

[0032] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art within the technical spirit of the present invention. In the above-described embodiment, the agitator 50 is fixed to the container 20 so as not to rotate, but the container 20 may be provided with a second drive unit that rotatably supports the shaft 55, and when the filter 40 is rotated relative to the container 20 by the drive unit 34, the agitator 50 may be rotated relative to the container 20 by the second drive unit. [Explanation of symbols]

[0033] 10 Filtration Device 20 containers 21 Container body 22 Cover member 24 Collection Department 30 Foundations 32 Placement section 34 Drive unit 35 Connection 40 Filter body 41 Bottom part 42 Filtration section 45 Rotating shaft part 46 Rotating joint 50 Stirring body 51 Wing 55 Shaft section 56 Filter body cover 60 Stirring body 61 Opening 62 Radiation section 63 Filter section

Claims

1. a container for collecting the filtered liquid; a filter body disposed in the container to accommodate a liquid before filtration and having a filtering portion on an outer periphery thereof; a drive unit that rotates the filter body relative to the container; a stirring body connected to the container and disposed inside the filter body.

2. the container has a shaft portion that fixes the stirring body to the container so that it cannot rotate, The filtering device according to claim 1 , wherein the agitator rotates relative to the filter body as a result of the filter body rotating with respect to the container.

3. The container has a lid member that closes an opening, The filtering device according to claim 2 , wherein the shaft portion extends from the cover member toward the filter body, and the agitator is provided at a tip end thereof.

4. The filtering device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the agitator has a blade portion.

5. The filtering device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the agitator comprises an opening that opens in the direction of the rotation axis of the filter body and a filter portion that is arranged on the outer periphery.

6. a base having the drive unit, The filtering device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the container has a rotary connection part that connects the drive part and the filter body by being placed on the base.

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