Culture device with a single culture chamber

Abstract

The objective is to provide a culture system that allows for the management of the culture environments of multiple culture vessels within a single culture room, minimizing environmental changes as much as possible, and enabling rapid recovery from changes in the culture room environment. [Solution] A culture apparatus comprising a single culture chamber that maintains an environment suitable for culture (gas concentration, temperature, humidity, and other atmospheres; the same applies hereinafter) and an optical unit for observing the cultured object, wherein the culture chamber has a drawer that allows access to the culture container placed inside.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a culture apparatus including a single culture chamber maintained in an environment suitable for culture (referring to gas concentration, temperature, humidity, and other atmospheres; the same shall apply hereinafter) inside and an optical unit for observing the culture target.

Background Art

[0002] In culturing using a culture apparatus, it is important that the culturing is performed in an environment optimal for cells and microorganisms to be cultured. If this culture environment changes, problems such as hindering the normal growth of the culture target or being unable to collect accurate data may occur.

[0003] Therefore, the culture apparatus is configured to be able to maintain the temperature and gas concentration inside the culture chamber provided in the apparatus in an environment suitable for cells and microorganisms that are the culture target.

[0004] In particular, in the incubator (culture apparatus) described in Patent Document 1, a configuration is disclosed in which a plurality of storage chambers capable of accommodating several culture vessels stacked on each other are configured to be in a communicating state, and gas circulates inside the apparatus to maintain a constant gas concentration in each storage chamber.

[0005] The incubator described in Patent Document 1 can contribute to maintaining the culture environment by suppressing the change in the gas concentration inside the apparatus when taking out the culture vessel as much as possible by adopting the above configuration.

[0006] By the way, in culturing cells and the like, it is necessary to periodically observe the changes in the culture target during culturing. In particular, in culturing embryonic cells in artificial insemination, changes in embryonic cells occur at short intervals, and it is necessary to observe them without missing any changes.

[0007] Therefore, in addition to the configuration that functions to maintain the environment of the culture chamber as described above, there is a culture apparatus provided with imaging means for imaging the culture target in order to observe the changes in the culture target.

[0008] One example is the embryo culture device (time-lapse incubator), which uses imaging equipment to capture images of the culture vessel at predetermined timings in order to observe changes in the cultured organism without fail.

[0009] A time-lapse incubator, for example, has multiple culture vessels that allow for simultaneous cultivation of several organisms, and a culture chamber with an open top that can individually house these culture vessels. Furthermore, it is equipped with an imaging device that also functions as a lid that can be opened and closed to cover the top of the culture chamber, i.e., the open portion.

[0010] Such time-lapse incubators allow for observation of cultured subjects by imaging them inside the incubator without having to remove the culture vessels, thanks to an imaging device that also functions as a lid. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0011] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-184127 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0012] However, some cultured organisms require very frequent observation depending on their nature (such as the culture of embryonic cells in artificial insemination, as mentioned above). Therefore, with the culture apparatus described in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to remove the culture vessel from inside the apparatus each time observation is performed, and the more frequently this is done, the higher the risk of damaging the cultured organism. Furthermore, the overall environment of the apparatus changes more rapidly with the increased frequency of removing the culture vessel, which may increase the time required to restore the culture chamber to an optimal environment.

[0013] In contrast, a time-lapse incubator, equipped with an imaging device for observing the cultured material, can solve the problem described in Patent Document 1.

[0014] However, time-lapse incubators with configurations like the one described above have multiple culture chambers, which means that the environment within each chamber must be maintained individually. This leads to problems such as a complex system configuration and a large overall size.

[0015] Furthermore, because the imaging device is designed to also function as a lid for the culture chamber, the size of the device that can be installed is limited. In other words, it was difficult to install an imaging device capable of high-resolution imaging, which would typically require a relatively large scale.

[0016] Therefore, the present invention aims to provide a culture apparatus that manages the culture environment of multiple culture vessels in a single culture room, suppresses changes in the internal environment of the culture room as much as possible, and enables rapid recovery in response to changes in the internal environment of the culture room.

[0017] Furthermore, by miniaturizing the culture chamber of the culture device, it is possible to install a relatively large optical unit that enables high-resolution imaging. In addition, even with the installation of a relatively large optical unit, the overall size of the culture device is still compact compared to conventional culture devices.

[0018] Furthermore, the aim is to provide a culture device that offers an optimal culture environment, ensures its maintenance, and minimizes stress on the cultured material caused by the opening and closing of the drawer, thereby enabling safe culture. [Means for solving the problem]

[0019] In view of the above problems, the culture apparatus of the present invention has the following features. [1] A culture apparatus comprising a culture chamber that maintains the interior in an environment suitable for culture (gas concentration, temperature, humidity and other atmosphere; the same applies hereinafter), and an optical unit for observing the cultured object, wherein the culture chamber has a drawer that allows access to the culture vessel placed inside. [2] The culture apparatus according to [1], further comprising a power cylinder for opening and closing the drawer. [3] The culture apparatus according to [2], comprising a gas tank for storing a culture gas consisting of one type of gas or a mixture of multiple types of gases used to create an environment suitable for culturing the target to be cultured, and a gas supply pipe for supplying the culture gas to the culture chamber, wherein the gas supply pipe supplies the culture gas to the culture chamber and opens and closes the drawer by supplying the gas and / or the culture gas to the power cylinder. [4] The culture apparatus according to [3], wherein the power cylinder is provided with an extrusion gas inlet that moves the cylinder rod forward by the pressure of the gas and / or culture gas supplied from the gas supply pipe. [5] The culture apparatus according to [3], wherein the power cylinder is provided with a pull-back gas inlet that moves the cylinder rod backward by the pressure of the gas and / or culture gas supplied from the gas supply pipe. [6] The culture apparatus according to any one of [1] to [5], wherein the optical unit comprises an illumination unit that irradiates light onto the culture target to be observed, an objective lens disposed below the illumination unit, an imaging unit that forms an image of the light incident from the objective lens onto an imaging surface, and an image sensor that converts the light formed on the imaging surface into an electrical signal, and the culture chamber is disposed between the illumination unit and the objective lens. [7] A culture apparatus according to any one of [1] to [6], comprising a heater inside, outside and / or near the culture chamber. [8] A culture apparatus according to any one of [1] to [7], comprising a spare heater in at least the culture chamber and the housing that houses the optical unit. [9] A culture apparatus according to any one of [1] to [8], comprising a monitoring sensor for observing the environment inside the culture chamber.

[10] The culture chamber has a guide portion provided in the opening and closing direction of the drawer with respect to the drawer having a wing portion protruding outward at at least a part of the side portion, and the wing portion is movably supported by the guide portion, thereby making the drawer slidable in the opening and closing direction while maintaining its horizontal position, and the culture apparatus according to any one of [1] to [9].

[11] The culture apparatus according to any one of [1] to

[10] , wherein the drawer includes an anti-tilt portion extending in the depth direction of the front plate.

[12] The culture apparatus according to any one of [1] to

[11] , wherein the front plate is made to contact the front wall of the culture vessel in the open state of the drawer.

[13] The culture apparatus according to any one of [1] to

[12] , wherein a front plate sealing material is attached to the inside of the front plate.

[14] The culture apparatus according to any one of [1] to

[13] , wherein a front plate sealing material is attached to the back side of the front plate of the drawer.

[15] The culture apparatus according to any one of [1] to

[14] , wherein the drawer includes a buffer mechanism for absorbing the impact when the front plate contacts the front wall.

[16] The culture apparatus according to

[15] , wherein the buffer mechanism is disposed at a position where it does not interfere with the opening and closing of adjacent drawers.

Advantages of the Invention

[0020] According to the culture apparatus of the present invention, since a plurality of culture vessels are accommodated inside a single culture chamber, it is possible to manage the culture environment of all the culture vessels by maintaining the culture environment of one culture chamber. Furthermore, by adopting a configuration in which access to the culture vessels is performed by drawers, the entire culture chamber can be downsized. Therefore, even if the internal environment of the culture chamber changes, it can be quickly restored. In addition, by downsizing the culture chamber, a wide space can be secured for mounting an optical unit in the culture apparatus, and it becomes easier to adopt an optical unit that enables high-quality imaging. In other words, even if a large optical unit is mounted, the entire culture apparatus can be downsized.

[0021] In addition, by accessing the culture vessel with a drawer, the entire culture vessel is exposed outside the culture chamber in the open drawer state, enabling easy and quick loading / unloading and status checking. Furthermore, compared to the conventional hinged door type extraction method, the opening required for loading / unloading the culture vessel can be reduced, minimizing changes in the internal environment of the culture chamber.

[0022] Moreover, by operating the power cylinder that opens and closes the drawer using the gas supplied to the culture chamber and / or the culture gas, even if the gas supplied to the power cylinder leaks into the culture chamber, the impact on the culture environment can be minimized.

[0023] Also, by providing a plurality of heaters and standby heaters, the temperature inside the culture chamber can be quickly restored from the changes caused by opening and closing the drawer.

[0024] Moreover, by providing a monitoring sensor, the changes in the internal environment of the culture chamber can be checked constantly or at any arbitrary timing.

[0025] In addition, by movably supporting the wing portion provided on at least a part of the side of the drawer by the guide portion provided in the culture chamber, the drawer can be slid in the opening and closing direction while maintaining horizontal.

[0026] Also, the front plate of the drawer can be in contact with the front wall of the culture chamber to make the inside of the culture chamber airtight or substantially airtight in the open drawer state, minimizing changes in the culture environment as much as possible. Also, by attaching a sealing material to the front plate, the airtightness can be further enhanced.

[0027] The drawer incorporates a buffering mechanism to absorb the impact caused by contact between the front plate and the front wall when the drawer is opened, minimizing stress on the cultured material. Furthermore, by positioning the buffering mechanism in a location that does not interfere with the opening and closing of adjacent drawers, the spacing between adjacent drawers can be reduced, contributing to the overall miniaturization of the culture chamber. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0028] [Figure 1] This is a schematic perspective view showing the overall configuration of a culture apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] This is a schematic perspective view showing the internal configuration of a culture apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] This is a schematic right-side view showing the internal configuration of a culture apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] This is a schematic perspective view showing the configuration of a culture chamber according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] This is a schematic perspective view showing the configuration of a drawer according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] This is a schematic partial enlargement view of a culture chamber in plan view according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] (a) A partially enlarged longitudinal cross-sectional view illustrating the buffering mechanism of the present invention. (b) A partially enlarged front view showing the front wall portion of the culture chamber of the present invention. [Figure 8] This is a schematic perspective view showing the configuration of a drawer according to another aspect of the present invention. [Figure 9] This is a schematic perspective view showing the configuration of a drawer according to another aspect of the present invention. [Figure 10] This is a schematic perspective view showing the configuration of an optical unit according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0029] The embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the attached drawings. Note that the following embodiments are merely examples of the present invention and do not limit the technical scope of the present invention.

[0030] In each figure, the coordinate axes are as follows: the X-axis represents the left-right direction (symbol X is on the right), the Y-axis represents the front-back direction (symbol Y is towards the front), and the Z-axis represents the up-down direction (symbol Z is towards the top). Therefore, in each figure, the side shown as the front is the front view. Figures 2 and 3 show the state with the main body cover H2 of the housing H removed in order to explain the internal configuration of the culture apparatus I according to the present invention. Figure 4 is a diagram for explaining the details of the culture chamber CR, showing the third drawer D from the right in the open state and the fifth drawer D from the right in the partially open state. Figure 5 is a diagram for explaining the details of drawer D, where (a) shows the disassembled state with the holder D321 removed, and (b) shows the state with the culture container CD placed using the holder D321. Figure 6 is a schematic partial enlargement view in plan view of the culture chamber, where (a) shows the stored state of drawer D, and (b) shows the open state of drawer D. Figure 7 shows (a) a partially enlarged longitudinal section to illustrate the buffering mechanism, and (b) a partially enlarged front view showing the front wall portion of the culture chamber. Figures 8 and 9 are diagrams to illustrate the details of drawer D, and Figure 8(a) and Figure 9 Figure 9(a) shows the disassembled state with the holder part D321 removed, while Figures 8(b) and 9(b) show the state in which the culture container CD is held using the holder part D321.

[0031] As shown in Figures 1 to 3, the culture apparatus I according to the present invention mainly comprises a culture chamber CR that houses culture vessels CD for culturing the target organism, an optical unit OU used for observing the target organism, a gas tank GT that stores culture gas used to maintain an appropriate environment inside the culture chamber CR, and a control unit CP for controlling each part. Furthermore, the culture apparatus I houses these main components inside a roughly rectangular parallelepiped housing H.

[0032] As shown in Figure 1, the enclosure H consists of a rectangular plate-shaped stage section H1 and a main body cover section H2 that covers the stage section H1 from above.

[0033] As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the interior of the housing H is arranged from front to back in the following order: culture chamber CR, optical unit OU, gas tank GT, and control unit CP. The culture chamber CR, gas tank GT, and control unit CP are supported and fixed by a support frame H3 which is fixed to the stage section H1.

[0034] Furthermore, the optical unit OU has an objective lens OU2 positioned below the illumination unit OU1 via a roughly U-shaped connecting section OU6, which will be described later, and the culture chamber CR is positioned in the space created between the illumination unit OU1 and the objective lens OU2.

[0035] The stage section H1 is equipped with a moving mechanism H11, which allows the optical unit OU to move in the X-axis direction. While a linear mechanism or the like could be considered for this moving mechanism H11, it is preferable to use a ball screw mechanism that allows for fine adjustment of the imaging position of the optical unit OU in relation to the rotation speed, as described later.

[0036] Furthermore, the stage section H1 is equipped with a spare heater (not shown). This heater is provided to warm the air inside the housing H, thereby acting as a buffer for the internal space (culture space) of the culture chamber CR, which is temperature-controlled by the heater described later. In other words, by warming the air outside the culture chamber CR, temperature changes in the culture space can be prevented as much as possible. However, since the spare heater only needs to warm the inside of the housing H, it does not necessarily have to be provided in the stage section H1; it may be provided in the main body cover section H2, or multiple spare heaters may be provided in both the stage section H1 and the main body cover section H2.

[0037] As shown in Figure 1, a roughly rectangular cover opening H4 is formed on the front of the main body cover H2 so as not to obstruct the pulling out of the main body cover H2 (towards the front) of the drawer D, which is provided in the culture chamber CR described later.

[0038] Furthermore, the main body cover H2 is equipped with a display / operation unit H5 on the front. The display / operation unit H5 has a monitor capable of displaying information sent from the control unit CP and operation buttons that can send instructions to the control unit CP. The monitor and operation buttons may consist of an LCD screen and physical buttons, or they may consist of a touch-panel LCD screen. Alternatively, multiple LCD screens, physical buttons, etc., regardless of whether they are touch-panel or non-touch-panel, may be combined as appropriate.

[0039] Furthermore, the main body cover H2 is equipped with a power switch for the entire culture apparatus I (not shown in the figure), a gas supply port for supplying culture gas or a gas that is a precursor to culture gas to the culture apparatus I, and connection terminals for external devices on its back.

[0040] In this embodiment, the housing H is divided into two parts: a stage section H1 and a main body cover section H2. The main body cover section H2 is placed over the stage section H1 from above, covering the various components arranged on the stage section H1. This configuration has the advantage that by removing the main body cover section H2, the various components inside are exposed, making adjustment and maintenance work in case of malfunction easier. However, the housing H does not necessarily have to take this configuration; it can be any configuration as long as at least the main components can be housed inside.

[0041] Furthermore, although a configuration in which the display / operation unit H5 is provided on the housing H has been described, the display / operation unit H5 does not necessarily have to be provided on the housing H. For example, the same functions as the display / operation unit H5 may be achieved by a computer connected to a connection terminal provided on the main body cover H2.

[0042] As shown in Figures 2 and 4, the culture chamber CR has a horizontally elongated rectangular parallelepiped shape with its longer side in the X-axis direction, and forms a predetermined space (culture space) inside.

[0043] As shown in Figures 4 and 6, the culture chamber CR constantly receives a supply of culture gas from the gas tank GT via a gas supply pipe (not shown) through a culture gas inlet CR5 located on the left wall. This allows the gas concentration in the culture space to be maintained at an optimal level for culture at all times. In this embodiment, the culture gas inlet CR5 is located on the left wall, but it is not limited to this location and may be located anywhere in the culture chamber CR. Furthermore, because the culture chamber CR constantly receives a supply of culture gas from the culture gas inlet CR5, it is under a slightly positive pressure state.

[0044] As shown in Figure 4, the front wall of the culture chamber CR has a series of roughly rectangular openings (drawer openings CR3) running in the X-axis direction. Drawers D are inserted into these drawer openings CR3. In this embodiment, the drawer openings CR3 are shown as 10 openings, but the number of drawer openings CR3 is not limited to this.

[0045] Furthermore, an insertion hole CR4 is drilled in the back wall opposite the front wall of the culture chamber CR, allowing the power cylinder AC for opening and closing the drawer D to be inserted. The number of these insertion holes CR4 corresponds to the number of drawer openings CR3 and drawers D inserted into them in the culture chamber CR. In other words, in this embodiment, since there are 10 drawer openings CR3 and 10 drawers D, there are also 10 insertion holes CR4.

[0046] Furthermore, the back wall of the culture chamber CR extends to a storage section CR6 having a certain internal space, and storage openings CR61 are provided so that the culture space and the storage section CR6 are in communication. These allow for the storage of the tilt prevention section D24 provided in the drawer D, which will be described later. The number of storage openings CR61 is not particularly limited, as it is provided according to the number of tilt prevention sections D24, but in this embodiment, since there are two tilt prevention sections D24 for each drawer D, 20 storage openings CR61 are provided.

[0047] As shown in Figure 4, the ceiling and bottom of the culture chamber CR have upper windows CR1 and lower windows CR2, which allow for visibility of the interior. These upper windows CR1 and lower windows CR2 are positioned so as not to obstruct observation of the cultured material using the optical unit OU, which will be described later. Furthermore, in order to create a sealed environment inside the culture chamber CR, the upper windows CR1 and lower windows CR2 are not simply open, but are also configured to be covered with transparent or translucent plates.

[0048] Furthermore, the lower window CR2 may be a single large window extending in the width direction of the culture chamber CR, or it may be provided as small windows (see Figure 4) in the lower part of each drawer D, which will be described later.

[0049] Furthermore, as shown in Figures 4, 6, and 7, the bottom surface of the culture chamber CR is provided with a guide section HM1, which constitutes a horizontal maintenance mechanism HM that is installed to maintain the horizontal position of the drawer D. Details of this horizontal maintenance mechanism HM will be described later, but in this embodiment, the guide section HM1 functions as an outer rail.

[0050] The drawer D is opened and closed by a power cylinder AC. In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 4, the power cylinder AC is a so-called pneumatic cylinder in which a piston (not shown) provided inside the cylinder tube AC1 is moved by air pressure, and the sliding of the piston is transmitted to the outside by the cylinder rod AC2.

[0051] The cylinder tube AC1, which forms the main body of the power cylinder AC, is fixed to the back side of the culture chamber CR, as shown in Figures 2 to 6, and the cylinder rod AC2 can be inserted into the culture chamber CR through the insertion hole CR4. By connecting the tip of this cylinder rod AC2 to the back part of the drawer D (not particularly limited, but in this embodiment it is connected to the front plate D2 described later (see Figures 5 and 6)), the sliding motion of the cylinder rod AC2 is transmitted and the drawer D can be opened and closed.

[0052] More specifically, as shown in Figures 5 and 6, the power cylinder AC is equipped with two gas inlets: a pull-back gas inlet AC3 and an extrusion gas inlet AC4. The pull-back gas inlet AC3 introduces gas into the power cylinder AC so as to constantly move the cylinder rod AC2 backward when the drawer D is in the retracted position. This is because the culture space is constantly supplied with culture gas from the culture gas inlet CR5, resulting in a slight positive pressure state. In other words, by constantly pulling the drawer D backward through the gas introduction from the pull-back gas inlet AC3, the closed state (retracted state) of the drawer D can be ensured despite the slight positive pressure state in the culture space.

[0053] The extrusion gas inlet AC4 introduces gas into the power cylinder AC in such a way that it moves the cylinder rod AC2 forward. As a result, the drawer D is pushed forward by the cylinder rod AC2, allowing the drawer D to be opened (open state).

[0054] Drawer D mainly consists of a front plate D1 which is roughly rectangular in shape when viewed from the front, an end plate D2 which is opposite the front plate D1 and is also roughly rectangular in shape, and a bottom plate D3 which is provided between the front plate D1 and the end plate D2.

[0055] The front panel D1 of drawer D is formed in a roughly rectangular shape that is larger than the drawer opening CR3 provided in the front wall of the culture chamber CR, and a sealing material (front panel sealing material D11) is attached to the inside (back side). When drawer D is in the retracted position, the front panel sealing material D11 is interposed between drawer D and the front wall of the culture chamber CR, suppressing the formation of gaps and functioning as a so-called packing to improve the airtightness of the culture chamber CR. This front panel sealing material D11 can be any flexible material such as natural rubber or synthetic resin, but EP rubber (ethylene propylene rubber) is preferably used, for example.

[0056] The front plate D2 of drawer D consists of a front plate body D21 that connects to the cylinder rod AC2, a contact portion D22 provided on the front side of the front plate body D21, a cushioning mechanism D23 provided on the front plate body D21, and a tilt prevention portion D24 that extends to the rear of the front plate body D21.

[0057] The contact portion D22 is a roughly rectangular plate member that is larger than the drawer opening CR3 provided on the front wall of the culture chamber CR, and a sealing material (front plate sealing material D221) is attached to the inside (front side). By forming the contact portion D22 to be larger than the drawer opening CR3, the drawer opening CR3 provided on the front wall of the culture chamber CR can be closed when the drawer D is open, thereby preventing changes in the environment of the culture space (gas concentration, temperature, etc.) as much as possible.

[0058] The front plate sealing material D221 acts as a packing, interposed between the front wall of the culture chamber CR (more specifically, the inside of the front wall) and the contact portion D22 when the drawer D is open, suppressing the formation of gaps and improving the airtightness of the culture chamber CR. This front plate sealing material D221 can be any flexible material such as natural rubber or synthetic resin, but EP rubber (ethylene propylene rubber) is preferably used, for example.

[0059] In this embodiment, the front plate D2 is configured to close the drawer opening CR3 when the drawer D is open, but it is not limited to this configuration. Any configuration that can make the culture chamber CR a sealed or nearly sealed room when the drawer D is open is acceptable, or even a configuration that does not close the drawer opening CR3 at all.

[0060] The shock-absorbing mechanism D23 has the function of absorbing the impact when the drawer D is opened by utilizing the elastic force of a spring. The shock-absorbing mechanism D23 consists of a spring holding portion D231 extending to the left and right sides of the front plate body portion D21, a spring member (not shown) such as a coil spring or leaf spring held within the spring holding portion D231, and a contact portion D232 that can be partially extended and retracted by the elastic force of the spring member.

[0061] Specifically, the spring retaining portion D231 houses and holds the spring member in a predetermined space inside, and a part of the contact portion D232 is inserted through an opening formed facing forward. The spring member is housed in the spring retaining portion D231 in an orientation such that an elastic force is exerted in the front-rear direction.

[0062] When no external force is applied to the contact portion D232 (except when the drawer D is open), the tip of the contact portion D232 protrudes forward of the contact portion D22. In other words, when the drawer D is not open, the contact portion D232 protrudes forward due to the biasing force of the spring.

[0063] Furthermore, when an external force is applied from the front, the contact portion D232 is configured such that the spring member held within the spring retaining portion D231 compresses, and a portion of it is pushed further into the spring retaining portion D231 accordingly.

[0064] Therefore, when the drawer D is opened by the forward sliding of the cylinder rod AC2, the contact portion D232 of the buffer mechanism D23 first comes into contact with the front wall of the culture chamber CR (more specifically, the inside of the front wall). The contact portion D232 absorbs the momentum when the drawer D is opened by the elastic force of the spring, which is opposite to the forward force of the cylinder rod AC2.

[0065] By incorporating the buffering mechanism D23 described above, drawer D reduces the impact when opening drawer D, thereby reducing stress on the cells cultured inside culture vessel CD placed on drawer D.

[0066] Furthermore, although the buffer mechanisms D23 are provided on both the left and right sides of the front plate body D21, it is preferable to intentionally offset the heights of the left buffer mechanism D23 and the right buffer mechanism D23. Specifically, as shown in Figure 7, for example, by placing the left buffer mechanism D23 at a higher position and the right buffer mechanism D23 at a lower position, the distance between adjacent drawers D can be narrowed. This also allows for a narrower distance between the drawer openings CR3 provided on the front wall of the culture chamber CR, contributing to the overall miniaturization of the culture chamber CR. Miniaturizing the culture chamber CR has the advantage of allowing for quick recovery even if the environment of the culture space changes.

[0067] The buffering mechanism consists of spring retaining parts D231 extending to the left and right sides of the front plate body D21, a spring member (not shown) such as a coil spring or leaf spring held within the spring retaining parts D231, and a contact part D232 that can be partially extended and retracted by the elastic force of the spring member. However, any configuration that can absorb the impact of contact between the front plate D2 and the front wall of the culture chamber CR when the drawer D is opened is acceptable. Furthermore, although the buffering mechanism D23 is described in this embodiment as being provided on the left and right sides of the front plate body D21, this is not necessarily required, and any configuration that can absorb the impact of contact between the front plate D2 and the front wall of the culture chamber CR when the drawer D is opened is acceptable.

[0068] The tilt prevention section D24 extends rearward from the front plate body section D21. That is, by being positioned behind the contact section D22, it remains inside the culture chamber CR even when the drawer D is in the open position. Therefore, the effect of the horizontal maintenance mechanism HM, described later, is maintained even when the drawer D is in the open position, keeping the drawer D horizontal and preventing the front end of the drawer D from tilting diagonally downward.

[0069] In Figure 5, the tilt prevention section D24 is shown with a length of L1. The larger the value of L1, the better the horizontal stability of the drawer D when opening and closing. Therefore, although the length L1 is arbitrary, it is preferable to set it to be at least one-fifth of the slide length of the drawer D when opening and closing. More preferably, it is preferable to set it to be at least one-quarter of the slide length of the drawer D when opening and closing.

[0070] The bottom plate D3 of drawer D consists of a bottom plate body D31 provided between the front plate D1 and the front plate D2, and a holder part D321 that can be attached to the bottom plate body D31.

[0071] The base plate body D31 is a plate-like member having a predetermined thickness and is formed in a roughly rectangular shape when viewed from above. The base plate body D31 has a mounting step D311 formed slightly towards the front, which is shaped to match the holder portion D321 and has a flange portion extending inward from the lower part of the mounting opening. The mounting step D311 is also equipped with a fixing mechanism D312 for fixing the holder portion D321 to the rear wall.

[0072] The fixing mechanism D312 fixes the holder portion D321, which is placed on the flange portion of the mounting step portion D311, by the biasing force of a spring. In this embodiment, the fixing mechanism D312 consists of a spring member (not shown) that exerts elastic force in the front-rear direction, and a holder pressing portion D313 that is provided to be retractable by the elastic force of the spring member.

[0073] Therefore, when attaching the holder portion D321, it is placed on the flange portion of the mounting step portion D311. At this time, the holder portion D321 is placed on the flange portion while pushing the holder pressing portion D313 of the fixing mechanism D312, which protrudes inward from the mounting step portion D311, backward.

[0074] The holder pressing portion D313, pushed backward by the holder portion D321, acts to push the holder portion D321 forward due to the biasing force of the spring. The holder portion D321 is then clamped in the front-rear direction by the front side of the mounting step portion D311 and the holder pressing portion D313 by the fixing mechanism D312. This allows the holder portion D321 to be fixed securely in a relatively easy manner.

[0075] Furthermore, the holder pressing portion D313 may also be provided with a bent portion that is folded forward at the top. The bent portion can prevent the holder portion D321 from springing upward when attaching it or after it has been attached.

[0076] Furthermore, the base plate body D31 has the mounting step D311 positioned slightly towards the front of the overall structure. In other words, the base plate body D31 has a wide rear margin. This rear margin allows the entire mounting step D311, and even the holder D321 attached thereto, as well as the entire culture container CD placed on the holder D321, to be exposed outside the culture chamber CR when the drawer D is open. Therefore, this rear margin functions as a pull-out space for the drawer D. This makes it easy to place and remove the culture container CD.

[0077] The holder section D321 consists of a mounting section D322 having recesses or steps that contact the entire or partial cross-sectional shape of the culture vessel CD, and a bottom window D324 provided in the center of the mounting section D322.

[0078] The culture vessel CD is placed on the mounting section D322, which has a recess or step that matches the shape of its cross-section. This ensures that the contact points restrict movement in the left, right, front, and back directions, thus guaranteeing that it is always placed in the same position.

[0079] Furthermore, the culture vessel CD may have a recess CD1 that is partially cut out from the bottom to the side, and the mounting section D322 may have a protrusion D323 that fits into the recess CD1. By providing such shapes on the culture vessel CD and the mounting section D322, it is possible to restrict rotation in addition to left, right, forward, and backward movement when the culture vessel CD is placed, so that the culture vessel CD can always be placed in the same position and angle in a plan view.

[0080] The bottom window D324 opens in the center of the mounting section D322, allowing the well located in the center of the mounted culture vessel CD to be imaged by the optical unit OU described later. More specifically, the upper window CR1 and lower window CR2 of the culture vessel CD, the mounting opening of the base plate body D31, and the bottom window D324 of the mounting section D322 are open in a way that allows them to be seen from above and below, thereby ensuring a path for light from the illumination section OU1 to the objective lens OU2 of the optical unit OU described later. The bottom window D324 and the mounting opening of the base plate body D31 may have transparent or semi-transparent plate material, like the upper window CR1 and lower window CR2 of the culture vessel CD, but since visibility deteriorates as the amount of plate material increases, it is preferable to have a simple opening.

[0081] As described above, the base plate D3 allows the holder D321 to be fixed under the same conditions each time by the mounting step D311 and holder pressing part D313 of the base plate body D31. Therefore, the culture vessel CD placed on the holder D321 is also always placed under the same conditions. Consequently, the position and angle of the culture vessel CD are naturally determined to be the same each time, and the center of the bottom window D324 coincides with the center of the wells arranged in the culture vessel CD. This has the advantage of making it easy to perform imaging under the same conditions when imaging with the optical unit.

[0082] Furthermore, the drawer D is designed so that the culture container CD is not placed directly on the bottom plate D3, but rather on a separate holder section D321. Therefore, the shape of the mounting section D322 of the holder section D321 restricts the movement of culture container CDs of various shapes and sizes in the left, right, forward, backward, and rotational directions, ensuring reliable positioning.

[0083] As shown in Figures 6 and 7, the drawer D and culture chamber CR are equipped with a horizontal maintenance mechanism HM for maintaining a horizontal position when the drawer D is opened and closed or when the drawer D is in the open position. Specifically, the horizontal maintenance mechanism HM consists of wing-shaped parts HM2 that protrude outward from the left and right sides of the bottom plate D3 of the drawer D to the tilt prevention parts D24, and a guide part HM1 that has grooves and is provided on the bottom surface of the culture chamber CR so as to sandwich the left and right sides of the drawer D.

[0084] In other words, the wing portion HM2 provided on the drawer D side functions as an inner rail and is movably supported by the guide portion HM1 provided on the culture chamber CR side, which functions as an outer rail, thereby maintaining the horizontal position of the drawer D during opening and closing operations. Furthermore, the tilt prevention portion D24 provided on the drawer D is located inside the culture chamber CR when the drawer D is open, and the engagement between the wing portion HM2 (inner rail) formed on the tilt prevention portion D24 and the guide portion HM1 (outer rail) of the culture chamber CR prevents the entire drawer D from tilting so that the tip portion hangs down, even when almost the entire bottom plate D3 of the drawer D is exposed outside the culture chamber CR. However, in this embodiment, the wing portion HM2 is described as functioning as an inner rail and the guide portion HM1 as an outer rail, but the wing portion HM2 may function as an outer rail and the guide portion HM1 may function as an inner rail.

[0085] Furthermore, it is desirable to cut out the drawer opening CR3 to match the protrusion of the wing portion HM2. Specifically, the drawer opening CR3 may be provided to match the outside of the wing portion HM2, but by cutting out the drawer opening CR3 to match the shape of the wing portion HM2, the size of the drawer opening CR3 can be minimized (in particular, the width L2 of the drawer opening CR3 (see Figure 7(b)) can be minimized), which increases the contact area between the front plate sealing material D11 or the front plate sealing material D221 and the front wall of the culture chamber CR in both the stored and open states of the drawer D, thereby contributing to improved airtightness.

[0086] Furthermore, the drawer D and the horizontal maintenance mechanism HM may have the following configuration. Another embodiment of the drawer D, as shown in Figures 8 and 9, has a configuration similar to that of a general drawer, namely, a front panel D1, a front panel D2 (back panel), two side panels D4, and a bottom panel D3.

[0087] The front panel D1 is formed in a roughly rectangular shape that is larger than the drawer opening CR3 of the culture chamber CR when viewed from the front. Therefore, when the drawer D is closed, the front panel D1 can block the drawer opening CR3, making the culture chamber CR a sealed room. It is also conceivable that the airtightness could be improved by attaching a sealing material to the back side of the front panel D1.

[0088] The two side plates D4 are formed to be at least lower than the height inside the culture chamber CR. However, it is preferable that the side plates D4 be at a height of half the height inside the culture chamber CR, and more preferably that they protrude slightly upward from the bottom plate D3. This allows the culture space formed inside the culture chamber CR to be treated as a single space without being separated by the drawer D, even when the drawer D is closed.

[0089] The front plate D2 is provided with a tilt prevention section D24 that extends in the depth direction. This tilt prevention section D24 prevents the tip (front plate D1 side) from drooping due to the center of gravity shifting towards the front plate D1 side when the drawer D is pulled out (open state), and also has the effect of maintaining the horizontal position of the drawer D at all times. Furthermore, the tilt prevention section D24 forms wing sections HM2 that protrude slightly to the left and right sides, and these wing sections HM2 are movably supported by the guide section HM1 described later, so that the drawer D can slide while reliably maintaining its horizontal position even when opening and closing the drawer D. In other words, the wing sections HM2 provided on the tilt prevention section D24 and the guide section HM1 provided on the culture chamber CR function as the horizontal maintenance mechanism HM described above.

[0090] Furthermore, the front plate D2 has a roughly rectangular shape that is larger than the drawer opening CR3 when viewed from the front. This allows the culture chamber CR to be sealed even when drawer D is open by blocking the drawer opening CR3 from the rear side (culture space side). It is also conceivable to improve the airtightness between the front plate D2 and the front wall of the culture chamber CR by attaching a sealing material to the front side.

[0091] The bottom plate D3 is the part on which the culture vessel CD is placed, and like the upper window CR1 and lower window CR2 of the culture chamber CR, a bottom window D324 is formed approximately in the center. This bottom window D324 may be covered with a transparent or translucent plate, similar to the upper window CR1 and lower window CR2 of the culture chamber CR, but it is most preferable to leave it as a simple opening without covering it with a plate, as visibility will be poor when imaging is performed with the optical unit OU described later.

[0092] Furthermore, the bottom plate D3 may also be designed to have a recess that matches the shape of the bottom surface of the culture container CD on which it is placed. By fitting the culture container CD into the recess of the bottom plate D3, it is possible to prevent the culture container CD from shifting due to shaking caused by opening and closing the drawer D.

[0093] While the base plate D3 can accommodate culture containers CD directly, it is also conceivable to provide a separately attachable holder section D321 to accommodate culture containers CD of various shapes and sizes, and to maintain their position and tilt in a plan view.

[0094] The holder portion D321 can have any configuration as long as it can hold the culture container CD, which is placed on the bottom plate D3, so that it does not move when the drawer D is opened or closed. For example, as shown in Figures 8 and 9, it can be composed of a front container contact portion D325 provided on the front side (front plate D1 side) of the bottom plate D3 and a rear container contact portion D327 provided on the back side (front plate D2 side) of the bottom plate D3 and having a spring that exerts elastic force in the front-rear direction (Y-axis direction).

[0095] When the front container contact portion D325 is installed on the bottom plate D3, its front surface contacts a stepped portion formed on the front plate D1 or bottom plate D3, while its rear surface is shaped to match the shape of the culture container CD (contact surface portion D326). Alternatively, as shown in Figure 8, it has a shape with a protrusion D323 that can be inserted into a recess CD1 provided in the culture container CD, which will be described later.

[0096] The rear container contact portion D327, when installed on the bottom plate D3, has its rear surface in contact with a stepped portion formed on the front plate D2 or the bottom plate D3, and its front side is equipped with a fixed spring portion D328 to which elastic force is applied by a spring. The fixed spring portion D328 is composed of, for example, a coiled spring installed so as to exert elastic force in the Y-axis direction and a rebound surface portion that receives the elastic force of the coiled spring and transmits a rebound force against a force pushing from the front.

[0097] The holder portion D321 can fix the position of the culture container CD by clamping it from the front and back using the contact surface portion D326 or convex portion D323 of the front container contact portion D325 and the fixing spring portion D328 of the rear container contact portion D327.

[0098] More specifically, the distance between the front container weld D325 and the rear container contact D327 is set to be narrower than the depth of the culture container CD (in Figure 8, this corresponds to the outer diameter since the culture container CD is circular). In this way, when attempting to place the culture container CD on the bottom plate D3, the fixing spring D328 is naturally pushed backward. The fixing spring D328 generates a repulsive force when pushed from the front by the culture container CD, causing the culture container CD to press against the contact surface D326 or protrusion D323 of the front container contact D325. This allows the culture container CD to be held and its position fixed.

[0099] Furthermore, since the culture vessel CD shown in Figure 8 is circular in shape, the above configuration alone can fix its position but cannot restrict the rotation of the culture vessel CD. Therefore, the culture vessel CD shown in Figure 8 has a recess CD1 formed from the bottom to the side, and a protrusion D323 formed on the front vessel contact portion D325 that can be inserted into the recess CD1.

[0100] The protrusion D323 contacts the inner surface of the recess CD1, thereby restricting the rotation of the culture vessel CD and enabling more secure fixation.

[0101] The holder section D321 is designed to be separately attached to the bottom plate D3, allowing it to accommodate various culture vessels CD. As an example, Figure 9 shows the case where a culture vessel CD with a roughly octagonal shape in plan view, formed by rounding the corners of a rectangle, is used. In this case, the contact surface section D326 has a shape that matches the shape of the culture vessel CD, with a surface parallel to the front plate D1 and inclined surfaces that extend outward from both sides of that surface. In this case, the contact surface section D326 can restrict movement in all directions (forward, backward, left, and right) as well as rotation.

[0102] The guide section HM1 consists of, for example, a straight rod-shaped member with grooves on its sides. The guide section HM1 is installed on the left and right sides of the drawer D housed in the culture chamber CR, and the grooves on its sides movably support the wing sections HM2 formed on the tilt prevention section D24 of the drawer D. As a result, when the drawer D slides back and forth to open and close due to the operation of the power cylinder AC, the guide section HM1 functions like a rail, restricting movement in directions other than back and forth, thereby maintaining the drawer D in a horizontal position at all times.

[0103] In Figures 8 and 9, the length of the wing portion HM2 formed on the tilt prevention portion D24 is shown as L3. The larger the value of L3, the more stable the movement of the drawer D when opening and closing can be. Therefore, although the length L3 is arbitrary, it is preferable that it be at least one-fifth of the slide length when opening and closing the drawer D. More preferably, it is preferable that it be at least one-quarter of the slide length when opening and closing the drawer D.

[0104] In this embodiment, the guide section HM1 is described as a straight rod-shaped member with grooves on its sides, but it is not limited to this configuration. Any configuration that can keep the entire unit horizontal at all times when opening and closing the drawer D is acceptable. For example, it may be a rod-shaped member that supports the lower part of the movable wing section HM2. Also, the wing section HM2 formed on the tilt prevention section D24 does not necessarily have to be formed on the tilt prevention section D24. For example, it could be formed by making a part of the side plate D4 of the drawer D protrude outward. In this embodiment, the guide section HM1 and the wing section HM2 are provided on both the left and right sides of the drawer D, but they do not necessarily have to be provided on both sides. They could be provided on only one side.

[0105] As described above, the drawer D is equipped with at least a bottom plate D3 (including a mountable holder portion D321) on which a culture vessel CD can be placed, and any configuration is acceptable as long as the front plate D1 can close the drawer opening CR3 when the drawer D is in the stored state. However, it is preferable that the front plate D2 can close the drawer opening CR3 when the drawer D is in the open state. Furthermore, it is preferable that the portion on which the culture vessel CD is placed is a mountable configuration such as a holder portion D321 that can accommodate various culture vessel CDs. In that case, it is preferable that the portion on which the culture vessel CD is placed is fixed in a predetermined position, so that the position and angle in plan view of the culture vessel CD can be fixed in the same way each time when imaging is performed by the optical unit OU.

[0106] Furthermore, the guide section HM1 may have any configuration as long as it can maintain the horizontal position of the drawer D when opening and closing the drawer D. Also, in relation to the tilt prevention section D24 provided on the drawer D, any configuration may be used as long as it can prevent the drawer D from tilting forward when it is in the open position.

[0107] The culture chamber CR or its vicinity is equipped with a heater (not shown) to warm and maintain the culture space at an optimal temperature for culture. Preferably, multiple heaters are provided inside the culture chamber CR, such as on the ceiling and side walls, outside the culture chamber CR, and / or in the vicinity of the culture chamber CR, such as below the drawer D, in locations that do not interfere with the opening and closing operation of the drawer D. By providing multiple heaters inside or near the culture chamber CR, even if the temperature of the culture space drops due to, for example, opening the drawer D, it becomes possible to quickly restore it to the optimal temperature.

[0108] Furthermore, by installing multiple heaters scattered throughout a single culture chamber (CR), the heating temperature can be individually adjusted if temperature unevenness occurs in the culture space due to opening drawers (D), etc., enabling rapid and uniform temperature recovery and preventing excessive temperature rise.

[0109] Furthermore, it is preferable that the culture apparatus I be equipped with a monitoring sensor (not shown). Examples of such monitoring sensors include a gas concentration sensor for monitoring whether the culture space is maintained at the optimal gas concentration for culture, and a temperature sensor for monitoring whether the culture space is maintained at the optimal temperature for culture.

[0110] The culture apparatus I of the present invention, having only one culture chamber (CR), makes it easier to standardize the installation of monitoring sensors. That is, since the monitoring sensors only observe one culture chamber (CR), the number of sensors to be installed can be minimized, reducing the introduction cost. This also has the advantage of making it easier to standardize the installation of various sensors that might not be adopted due to cost considerations in apparatuses with multiple culture chambers. By standardizing the installation of monitoring sensors, the environment of the culture space can be constantly monitored, and changes can be detected as quickly as possible.

[0111] As described above, the culture apparatus I of the present invention provides multiple drawers D in a single culture chamber CR, allowing the culture vessels CD placed in each of the multiple drawers D to be managed within the same culture space, thereby minimizing changes in the environment. Furthermore, if a change occurs in the environment of the culture space, the environment can be quickly restored.

[0112] The optical unit OU enables observation of the cultured object by generating imaging data that is output as an image or video to the monitor of the display / operation unit H5 located in the housing H or to an externally connected computer.

[0113] As shown in Figure 10, the optical unit OU comprises an illumination unit OU1 that irradiates light onto the culture target housed inside the culture vessel CD, an objective lens OU2 for focusing the light beam from the illumination unit OU1, an imaging unit OU4 that combines the light incident from the objective lens OU2 onto the imaging surface, and an imaging unit OU5 having an image sensor that converts the light combined onto the imaging surface into an electrical signal.

[0114] The illumination unit OU1 can be any device with a light source capable of emitting light, but considering power consumption and heat generation from the light source, it is preferable to use an illumination fixture equipped with LEDs. Furthermore, it is desirable to turn on the illumination unit OU1 when imaging the culture target and turn it off at other times.

[0115] The objective lens OU2 is mounted on a cylindrical lens barrel OU3 and focuses the light beam emitted from the illumination unit OU1. The lens barrel OU3 can be extended and retracted in the Z-axis direction, allowing the focus of the light incident from the objective lens OU2 to be adjusted and the amount of light collected to be controlled. In other words, the objective lens OU2 and the lens barrel OU3 to which the objective lens OU2 is mounted function as the light-gathering system in the optical system. The mechanism for extending and retracting the lens barrel OU3 in the Z-axis direction can be configured in any way, but a telescopic pipe structure is preferably used.

[0116] The imaging unit OU4 illuminates the imaging surface, where the imaging unit OU5 takes an image, with light from the objective lens OU2 to form an image. For this purpose, it is formed as a cavity so that its interior serves as a path for light, and it is further equipped with a reflecting mirror (not shown) inside the cavity. In other words, the imaging unit OU4 functions as the illumination system within the optical system. The imaging unit OU4 may also be equipped with an adjustment mechanism for focusing.

[0117] The imaging unit OU5 has an image sensor, which converts light illuminating the imaging surface into an electrical signal. The imaging unit OU5 may also be configured with other elements besides the image sensor, such as a photosensor array, a low-pass filter, microlenses, and color filters, as appropriate.

[0118] In this embodiment, the imaging unit OU4 has a vertically elongated cube shape in the Y-axis direction, and a lens barrel OU3 with an objective lens OU2 attached is erected on the upper surface on the front side in Figure 10. The imaging unit OU5 is connected to the innermost part of the imaging unit OU4.

[0119] The illumination unit OU1 is connected to the lens barrel OU3, imaging unit OU4, and imaging unit OU5 by a roughly U-shaped connecting unit OU6, and the optical unit OU is integrated. Specifically, the illumination unit OU1 is connected to the tip of the roughly U-shaped connecting unit OU6 and positioned above the lens barrel OU3 (objective lens OU2).

[0120] Furthermore, a moving mechanism (not shown) is provided at the lower part of the imaging unit OU4, making the entire optical unit OU movable in the Y-axis direction.

[0121] The optical unit OU is positioned relative to the culture vessel CD, which is the target of imaging, by moving in the X-axis direction using a movement mechanism H11 located on the stage section H1 of the housing H, and in the Y-axis direction using a movement mechanism located at the bottom of the imaging section OU4. Furthermore, focusing on the cultured object contained inside the culture vessel CD is done by extending and retracting the lens barrel OU3 in the Z-axis direction and by the adjustment mechanism of the imaging section OU4. This enables high-precision imaging of the cultured object.

[0122] As described above, the optical unit OU, which integrates individual components such as the illumination unit OU1, objective lens OU2, imaging unit OU4, and imaging unit OU5, is capable of acquiring higher-quality images or videos compared to the small imaging devices that were often installed in conventional culture systems. Therefore, it is possible to represent the cultured object in detail and improve the accuracy of observation.

[0123] However, the optical unit OU of the present invention is large overall due to its high precision. Nevertheless, since the culture apparatus I of the present invention can miniaturize the culture chamber CR, it is possible to secure space within the housing H to accommodate a relatively large optical unit OU.

[0124] Furthermore, by arranging the culture chamber CR between the illumination unit OU1 and the objective lens OU2 of the optical unit OU, wasted space can be minimized. As a result, even if a large optical unit OU is adopted, the overall size of the culture apparatus I can be made smaller compared to conventional culture apparatuses that can accommodate multiple culture vessels, which contributes to increasing the number of culture apparatus I installed per laboratory.

[0125] The gas tank GT supplies culture gas stored inside to the culture chamber CR via a connected gas supply pipe (not shown) as the distribution path. The culture gas is supplied to the gas tank GT itself from outside the culture apparatus I via a gas supply port provided in the enclosure H.

[0126] Furthermore, the gas tank GT can also be configured to supply culture gas to the power cylinder AC. This supplied culture gas operates the power cylinder AC, which opens and closes the drawer D. Since the power cylinder AC is a pneumatic cylinder powered by compressed air, a pump (not shown) for sending out the culture gas at high pressure is installed between the gas tank GT and the power cylinder AC.

[0127] Therefore, the culture gas stored in the gas tank GT can be used to maintain the environment of the culture space in the culture room CR, as well as to operate the power cylinder AC.

[0128] If the power cylinder AC uses culture gas as the air used for operation, the impact on the culture environment can be minimized even if unforeseen events such as gas leaks occur inside the culture apparatus I. This is made possible by making the power cylinder AC in this embodiment a pneumatic cylinder.

[0129] However, while using a pneumatic cylinder instead of a power cylinder AC is the most preferred configuration, it is not necessarily required to have the same configuration. In other words, any mechanism that can open and close drawer D is acceptable, such as a hydraulic cylinder or an electric actuator.

[0130] The culture gas is a mixture of one or more gases to create an environment suitable for the organism being cultured. Examples include a mixture of carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen (N2), or a mixture of carbon dioxide (CO2) and oxygen (O2). However, it does not necessarily have to be a mixture; a single gas may be used as long as it is optimal for the culture environment of the organism being cultured.

[0131] Furthermore, although this embodiment describes a configuration in which culture gas is supplied to the gas tank GT from a gas supply port provided in the housing H, it is not always necessary to supply culture gas. That is, if the culture gas is a mixed gas, it is also conceivable to supply the gases that will become the culture gas from the gas supply port provided in the housing H to the gas tank GT and mix them inside the gas tank GT.

[0132] In this case, it is also conceivable to supply at least one of the gases constituting the culture gas to the power cylinder AC from the gas supply port or a gas tank separately installed in the culture apparatus I, and operate it. Even in this case, if a gas leak occurs from the power cylinder AC due to unforeseen circumstances, using the gas contained in the culture gas has the advantage of minimizing the impact on the culture space and making it easier to restore the altered gas concentration.

[0133] The control unit CP is a group of electronic devices for controlling each part of the culture apparatus I, and is composed of an appropriate combination of processing units such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and storage devices such as ROM (Read Only Memory), flash memory, and RAM (Random Access Memory).

[0134] The control unit CP performs at least drawer opening / closing control, culture environment maintenance control, and culture target observation control. Therefore, it is connected to the components related to each of these controls. The connection between this control unit CP and each component can be wired or wireless. It is also connected to the display / operation unit H5 located on the housing H, whether wired or wireless.

[0135] The drawer opening and closing control is the control used when placing or removing culture containers CD. This is performed when the control unit CP receives an opening and closing instruction for drawer D from the display / operation unit H5 and switches the operation of the power cylinder AC. Switching the operation of the power cylinder AC refers to switching between the operation of moving the cylinder rod AC2 backward by continuously supplying culture gas or one or more gases that constitute culture gas from the pull-back gas inlet AC3 of the power cylinder AC, and the operation of moving the cylinder rod AC2 forward by supplying culture gas or one or more gases that constitute culture gas from the extrusion gas inlet AC4 of the power cylinder AC.

[0136] Culture environment maintenance and control involves monitoring the culture environment, supplying culture gas (including the gases that form the basis of the culture gas) to the culture room CR, and controlling the temperature using heaters and auxiliary heaters.

[0137] Monitoring of the culture environment is performed by the control unit (CP) receiving information from monitoring sensors. For example, it receives information such as the gas concentration in the culture space obtained from a gas concentration sensor and the temperature of the culture space obtained from a temperature sensor.

[0138] Based on information obtained from monitoring sensors, if there is a change in the environment of the culture space, the system will supply culture gas (including the gases that form the culture gas) and / or adjust the temperature to restore the environment. Specifically, the culture space is constantly supplied with culture gas from the culture gas inlet CR5 of the culture room CR, maintaining an optimal gas concentration. However, if an abnormality is detected in the gas concentration in the culture space, it is necessary to supply additional culture gas (including the gases that form the culture gas) from the gas tank GT into the culture room CR, and this supply will be controlled.

[0139] Furthermore, when a temperature change in the culture space is detected, the operation of the heater and backup heater is controlled (e.g., turning the heater on / off or changing the set temperature). When adjusting the temperature, it is preferable that the system be configured so that if temperature unevenness is detected within the culture chamber CR, the optimal operation control is performed from among multiple individually controlled heaters and backup heaters.

[0140] As described above, it is preferable to configure the culture environment maintenance control so that it can automatically recover when it detects changes in the environment by pre-storing information on the optimal environment for culture in the control unit CP. However, it is also possible to configure the system to display information obtained from the monitoring sensor on the monitor of the display / operation unit H5, and to supply culture gas and adjust the temperature according to the operator's instructions. Of course, it is also conceivable to combine an automatic recovery configuration with a semi-automatic configuration based on the operator's instructions.

[0141] The culture target observation control controls the imaging of the culture target to be observed. This control involves moving the optical unit OU to the position of the culture vessel CD containing the culture target to be observed (optical unit movement control), focusing on the culture target (focus adjustment control), acquiring imaging data (imaging data acquisition control), and transmitting the acquired imaging data to the display / operation unit H5 for display (imaging data display control).

[0142] Optical unit movement control is the control of moving the optical unit OU so that the cultured object to be observed is centered on the objective lens OU2. This movement of the optical unit OU is performed in the X-axis and Y-axis directions by a movement mechanism H11 provided on the stage section H1 of the housing H and a movement mechanism provided on the lower part of the imaging section OU4.

[0143] Focus adjustment control is a control method that adjusts the distance between the objective lens OU2 and the cultured object by extending or retracting the lens barrel OU3 in the Z-axis direction to achieve focus. At this time, if the imaging unit OU4 is equipped with an adjustment mechanism, focus adjustment control is also performed by this adjustment mechanism.

[0144] The image acquisition control works as follows: the image sensor in the imaging unit OU5 emits light via the objective lens OU2, which is then focused by the lens barrel OU3 and the imaging unit OU4 and converted into an electrical signal. The control unit CP receives this electrical signal as image data. The image data obtained at this time may be still image data or video data.

[0145] The image data display control involves the control unit CP transmitting the received image data to the display / operation unit H5, and then displaying the image data on the monitor of the display / operation unit H5. This allows the operator to observe the culture status of the cultured object.

[0146] The above control for observing the culture target may be performed by an operator selecting the culture target to be observed by operating the display / operation unit H5, but it is preferable that it be performed automatically at a predetermined interval. That is, it is preferable that the control unit CP performs control similar to that of a culture device that performs time-lapse photography disclosed in the prior art, and that it is configured to automatically acquire imaging data of the culture target.

[0147] Furthermore, the control unit CP may perform control during observation to capture images of a single culture target at the same field of view but at different depths. Specifically, when imaging the culture target, images are taken while slightly changing the distance in the Z-axis direction. The image data obtained by such imaging will each have slightly different points of focus. By combining these multiple image data at different points of focus into a single image, a clear composite image of all parts of the culture target can be obtained, enabling more accurate observation.

[0148] As described above, the culture apparatus I according to the present invention has the advantage of easily maintaining a uniform culture environment for multiple culture vessels CD by having a single culture chamber CR that houses the culture vessels CD. In addition, it has the advantage of being able to quickly restore the optimal culture environment if the culture environment changes.

[0149] Furthermore, by accessing the culture vessel CD via drawer D, changes in the culture environment due to the placement or removal of the culture vessel CD can be minimized. In addition, the configuration that allows access to the culture vessel CD via drawer D has the advantage of making the entire culture room CR smaller, and making it easier to adopt a high-resolution imaging optical unit OU, which tends to be relatively large, as mounted on the culture device I. Even in that case, the entire culture device I can be made smaller compared to conventional culture devices equipped with multiple culture rooms and imaging devices, contributing to an increase in the number of units that can be installed in a single laboratory.

[0150] Furthermore, when drawer D is open, the culture vessels CD are exposed to the outside of the culture chamber CR, making it easy and quick to remove them and check their condition. In addition, the drawer D can be opened and closed with a single touch (for example, by operating the power cylinder AC, whose operation is controlled by the control unit CP, using the display / operation unit H5), resulting in excellent operability.

[0151] Furthermore, by having the culture container CD placed on the bottom plate D3 of drawer D (including the holder portion D321 provided on the bottom plate D3), it is possible to accommodate culture container CDs of various shapes and structures. In addition, since different types of culture container CDs can be placed in each drawer D, it can accommodate a wide range of culture operations.

[0152] The above-described embodiments are just one example of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above. Accordingly, it goes without saying that various modifications are possible depending on the design, etc., as long as they do not depart from the technical spirit of the present invention. Furthermore, the various effects described above are merely a list of preferred effects that may arise from the present invention, and the effects of the present invention are not limited to those described in these embodiments. [Explanation of symbols]

[0153] I Culture device CR culture room CR1 Upper window CR2 lower window CR3 drawer opening CR4 insertion hole CR5 Culture Gas Inlet CR6 Storage Compartment CR61 Storage opening D drawer D1 Front Panel D11 Front panel sealing material D2 tip plate D21 Front plate main body D22 Contact part D221 Front plate sealing material D23 Buffer mechanism D231 Spring retainer D232 Contact part D24 Anti-tilt section D3 base plate D31 Bottom plate main body D311 Mounting step D312 Fixing mechanism D313 Holder pressing part D321 Holder section D322 Mounting section D323 protrusion D324 Bottom window D325 Front container contact area D326 Contact surface part D327 Rear container contact part D328 Fixed spring section D4 side plate HM horizontal maintenance mechanism HM1 Guide Section HM2 Habe AC Power Cylinder AC1 Cylinder Tube AC2 Cylinder Rod AC3 Retraction Gas Inlet AC4 Extrusion Gas Inlet OU Optical Unit OU1 Lighting Department OU2 objective lens OU3 Telescope Tube OU4 Imaging Unit OU5 Imaging Unit OU6 connection part GT gas tank CP Control Unit H cabinet H1 Stage Section H11 Moving mechanism H2 Main Unit Cover H3 Support Frame H4 Cover Opening H5 Display / operation section CD culture vessel CD1 recess

Claims

1. A culture apparatus comprising a single culture chamber whose interior is maintained in an environment suitable for culture (referring to gas concentration, temperature, humidity, and other atmospheres; the same applies hereinafter), and an optical unit for observing the cultured object, wherein the culture chamber has a drawer that allows access to the culture container placed inside.

2. The culture apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a power cylinder for opening and closing the drawer.

3. The culture apparatus according to claim 2, comprising a gas tank for storing a culture gas consisting of one type of gas or a mixture of multiple types of gases used to create an environment suitable for culturing the target to be cultured, and a gas supply pipe for supplying the culture gas to the culture chamber, wherein the gas supply pipe supplies the culture gas to the culture chamber and also supplies the gas and / or the culture gas to the power cylinder to open and close the drawer.

4. The culture apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the power cylinder is provided with an extrusion gas inlet that moves the cylinder rod forward by the pressure of the gas and / or culture gas supplied from the gas supply pipe.

5. The culture apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the power cylinder is provided with a return gas inlet that moves the cylinder rod backward by the pressure of the gas and / or culture gas supplied from the gas supply pipe.

6. The culture apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the optical unit comprises an illumination unit that irradiates light onto the culture target to be observed, an objective lens disposed below the illumination unit, an imaging unit that forms an image of the light incident from the objective lens onto an imaging surface, and an image sensor that converts the light formed on the imaging surface into an electrical signal, and the culture chamber is disposed between the illumination unit and the objective lens.

7. The culture apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, comprising a heater inside, outside and / or near the culture chamber.

8. The culture apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein at least the culture chamber and the housing housing the optical unit are provided with a spare heater.

9. The culture apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising a monitoring sensor for observing the internal environment of the culture chamber.

10. The culture chamber has a guide portion provided in the opening and closing direction of the drawer, with respect to the drawer having wing portions that protrude outward from at least a part of its side, and the wing portions are movably supported by the guide portion, thereby allowing the drawer to slide in the opening and closing direction while maintaining its horizontal position, according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

11. The culture apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the drawer is provided with a tilt prevention portion extending in the direction toward the back of the front plate.

12. The culture apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the front plate is in contact with the front wall of the culture container when the drawer is in an open state.

13. The culture apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the front plate has a front plate sealing material attached to its inner side.

14. The culture apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the front panel of the drawer has a front panel sealing material attached to its back side.

15. The culture apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 14, wherein the drawer is provided with a buffering mechanism that absorbs impact when the front plate and the front wall come into contact.

16. The culture apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the buffer mechanism is positioned so as not to interfere with the opening and closing of adjacent drawers.

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