Culture device

Abstract

This culture device comprises: a vaporizer that provides vapor to a culture chamber by vaporizing water that was dropped into the vaporizer; and a heater that heats the vaporizer. The vaporizer is provided with a water-droplet passage blocking mechanism, between an upstream region in which an inlet for the water and a bottom surface with which the water makes contact are present, and a downstream region in which an outlet for the vapor is present.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an incubation device. [Background technology]

[0002] In a culture device (incubator) for culturing cultures such as cells and microorganisms, the culture chamber must be kept at a humidity suitable for culture. For example, as shown in Patent Document 1, humidification is conventionally performed using a humidifying tray placed in the culture chamber. Water in the humidifying tray evaporates until the culture chamber reaches saturated humidity, humidifying the culture chamber. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2017-201886 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The water in the humidifying tray evaporates gradually. This means that the culture chamber cannot be humidified quickly when using a humidifying tray. If the water in the humidifying tray were boiled to promote evaporation, there would be a high possibility of condensation forming inside the culture chamber, which could lead to contamination, such as the growth of bacteria.

[0005] An object of the present disclosure is to quickly humidify a culture chamber while preventing the adhesion of water droplets to the culture chamber. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] One aspect of the culture device according to the present disclosure comprises an evaporator that evaporates dripped water to supply steam to a culture chamber, and a heater that heats the evaporator, and the evaporator has a water droplet passage prevention mechanism between an upstream region where the water inlet and the bottom surface with which the water comes into contact are located, and a downstream region where the steam outlet is located. When implementing the above-described culture device, specifically, the upstream region and the downstream region may be regions separated by an imaginary plane parallel to the up-down direction. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present disclosure, the culture chamber can be quickly humidified while preventing the adhesion of water droplets to the culture device. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view of a culture device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure, viewed from the right side. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a main part of the steam supply device. [Figure 3] 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 2. FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a partial enlarged view of the evaporator. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a steam supply device according to a modified example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, a culture device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. The embodiments shown below are merely examples and do not exclude the application of various modifications and techniques not explicitly stated in the following embodiments. Furthermore, each configuration of the embodiments can be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit thereof. Furthermore, each configuration of the embodiments can be selected or combined as needed.

[0010] In this specification, the front, back, left, right, and top and bottom of the culture device are defined as follows: the side that the user faces when using the device (the side with the outer door 3a and inner door 3b described below) is the front, and the opposite side is the rear. Also, left and right are defined based on a view from the front to the rear. Also, the side closest to the surface on which the culture device is placed is the bottom, and the opposite side is the top.

[0011] In all the drawings for explaining the embodiments, the same elements are generally designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof may be omitted.

[0012] [1. Overall structure] The entire culture apparatus of one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view of the culture apparatus of one embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the right side.

[0013] The culture device 1 shown in Figure 1 is a device for culturing cultures such as cells or microorganisms. This culture device 1 includes a roughly box-shaped box body 2 having a culture chamber 20 formed therein and an opening 21 formed on the front, and an outer door 3a and an inner door 3b for opening and closing the opening 21. The culture chamber 20 is divided into upper and lower sections by a plurality of shelves 4. A packing P1 is provided on the outer edge of the outer door 3a.

[0014] In the culture chamber 20, the temperature, humidity, O2 (oxygen) concentration, and CO2 (carbon dioxide) concentration are each maintained within an appropriate range so as to provide an atmosphere suitable for culturing the culture.

[0015] The box body 2 includes an inner box 2a having a substantially box shape in which the culture chamber 20 is formed, and an outer box 2b having a substantially box shape that covers the outside of the inner box 2a.

[0016] The inner box 2a and the outer box 2b are formed from metal plates. A heat insulating material 2c is disposed between the inner box 2a and the outer box 2b. The heat insulating material 2c is formed, for example, by combining plate-shaped heat insulating materials. A heat insulating space 2d is formed between the inner box 2a and the heat insulating material 2c.

[0017] The back and bottom of the outer box 2b of the box body 2 are covered with a cover 2e. The space between the back of the outer box 2b and the cover 2e forms a machine room M in which various devices are placed. An electrical equipment box 13 is provided in the machine room M. The interior 13a of the electrical equipment box 13 houses the control device 100 and other electrical equipment (not shown).

[0018] A duct 5 extending vertically is disposed in the culture chamber 20. The duct 5 is detachably attached to the back surface of the inner box 2a. A gas passage K is formed inside the duct 5. A circulation fan 5c is disposed in this gas passage K. By operating the circulation fan 5c, air in the culture chamber 20 is sucked in through an intake port 5a formed at the top of the duct 5, and this air is blown out into the culture chamber 20 from an outlet port 5b provided at the bottom of the duct 5. This causes forced circulation of air as shown by arrows A1, A2, A3, and A4.

[0019] Gas supply devices 12a and 12b are installed in the duct 5 to supply adjustment gases (O2 gas, N2 gas, and CO2 gas) to the culture chamber 20 to adjust the O2 gas concentration and CO2 gas concentration in the culture chamber 20. Environmental sensors are also installed in the duct 5 to measure the temperature, humidity, O2 gas concentration, and CO2 gas concentration in the culture chamber 20. An ultraviolet irradiation device may also be installed in the duct 5 to sterilize the air in the culture chamber 20 by irradiating it with ultraviolet light.

[0020] A culture chamber heater 6 for temperature regulation, i.e., for controlling the temperature of the culture chamber 20, is installed on each back surface (the surface facing the outer box 2b) of the right side wall, left side wall, rear wall, top wall, and bottom wall of the inner box 2a. FIG. 1 shows the culture chamber heater 6 installed on the rear wall as a representative example. In principle, the culture chamber heater 6 is energized and generates heat while the culture device 1 is in operation. The output (heating power) of the culture chamber heater 6 is controlled by the control device 100.

[0021] Through holes are formed in the inner box 2a, the outer box 2b, and the heat insulating material 2c, and a steam supply device 7 is disposed so as to span the machine chamber M and the inside of these through holes. The steam supply device 7 is a device that supplies steam to the culture chamber 20 and humidifies the culture chamber 20.

[0022] The culture device 1 also receives inputs from an operating device 50 provided on the outer door 3a, such as instructions to start and stop the culture device 1, operation mode settings, and various set values ​​for the culture chamber 20. The various set values ​​for the culture chamber 20 include the set temperature, set humidity, set O2 gas concentration, and set CO2 gas concentration. The control device 100 controls components such as the circulation blower 5c, gas supply devices 12a and 12b, culture chamber heater 6, and steam supply device 7, based on inputs from the operating device 50 and environmental sensors. The operating device 50 has a display unit that displays the status of the culture device 1.

[0023] [2. Steam supply device] The steam supply device 7 includes a tank 71, a pump 72, a supply pipe 73, an evaporator 74, a discharge pipe 75, and a nozzle member 76. A case 77 is fixed to the surface of the outer box 2b on the side of the machine chamber M. Support columns 78 that support the evaporator 74 are attached to the case 77. The evaporator 74 is entirely covered with a heat-insulating covering 79.

[0024] The tank 71 is a container for storing water. Although FIG. 1 shows the tank 71 disposed inside the machine room M, the tank 71 may be installed outside the culture device 1 or may be disposed in a space different from the machine room M of the culture device 1. The pump 72 is a pump capable of discharging the water in the tank 71 little by little, and is, for example, a tube pump. The supply pipe 73 is, for example, a flexible tube made of resin. The end of the supply pipe 73, i.e., the portion connected to the evaporator 74, may be made of metal. When the pump 72 is operated, the water in the tank 71 is supplied little by little through the supply pipe 73 to the evaporator 74.

[0025] The water supplied to the evaporator 74 evaporates into steam inside the evaporator 74. The generated steam passes through a discharge pipe 75 and is supplied to the culture chamber 20 from a nozzle member .

[0026] Fig. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a main part of the steam supply device 7, and Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line III-III in Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a partially enlarged view of the evaporator 74.

[0027] The evaporator 74 is a block-shaped component with a hollowed-out portion serving as the evaporation chamber C. The evaporator 74 is made of a highly corrosion-resistant metal such as stainless steel. The evaporation chamber C opens at the top. A lid 80 is fixed to the top of the evaporator 74 to cover this opening. The lid 80 has a recess 80a formed in the portion where the supply pipe 73 is connected. The supply pipe 73 has an inlet 73a, which is an opening that leads to the evaporation chamber C. Water drips from the inlet 73a into the evaporation chamber C.

[0028] The evaporator 74 has multiple holes into which a heater 81, a temperature sensor 82, and a safety device 83 are inserted. The heater 81 is a rod-shaped heater, such as a ceramic heater, that heats the evaporator 74. The temperature sensor 82 detects the temperature of the evaporator 74 and sends the detection result to the control device 100. The control device 100 controls the amount of heat generated by the heater 81 based on the detection result of the temperature sensor 82. The safety device 83 is, for example, a thermal fuse, and forcibly cuts off the power supply to the heater 81 if a malfunction of the heater 81 or the temperature sensor 82 causes the heater 81 to generate excessive heat and the temperature of the evaporator 74 to become abnormally high.

[0029] The evaporation chamber C has a bottom surface 84 located directly below the inlet 73a, a wall surface 85 rising from the bottom surface 84, and a second bottom surface 86 continuing from the upper end of the wall surface 85. An outlet 74a, which is an opening connected to the discharge pipe 75, is formed in a side wall of the evaporation chamber C, specifically, in the side wall located opposite the inlet 73a and the bottom surface 84 across the wall surface 85. Steam generated in the evaporation chamber C exits the evaporation chamber C from the outlet 74a.

[0030] The evaporation chamber C can be divided into an upstream region 87 located upstream of the steam flow and a downstream region 88 located downstream of the steam flow. A wall surface 85 exists between the upstream region 87 and the downstream region 88. In FIG. 3, an imaginary plane 89 separating the upstream region 87 and the downstream region 88 is shown by a dotted line. The wall surface 85 forms a part of the imaginary plane 89.

[0031] The upstream region 87 is a region where the inlet 73a, which is the opening through which the dripped water enters, and the bottom surface 84, which is the surface through which the dripped water comes into contact and evaporates, are located. In other words, the upstream region 87 is a region where steam is actually generated. The downstream region 88 is a region where the outlet 74a, which is the opening through which the generated steam exits, is located. The shape of the imaginary surface 89 separating the upstream region 87 and the downstream region 88 is not necessarily limited to that shown in FIG. 3.

[0032] A discharge pipe 75 is connected to the evaporator 74 so as to protrude from the outer surface of the evaporator 74 toward the culture chamber 20. The discharge pipe 75 is made of a highly corrosion-resistant metal such as stainless steel. The discharge pipe has a passage that connects to the outlet 74a. The diameter of the passage in the discharge pipe is equal to the diameter of the outlet 74a.

[0033] A nozzle member 76 is attached to the tip of the discharge pipe 75. The nozzle member 76 is fixed to the inner box 2a so as to fit into the through-hole 21 formed in the inner box 2a. In this embodiment, the nozzle member 76 is fixed to the inner box 2a via a rubber part (not shown). Specifically, the nozzle member 76 has an annular locking portion 76b (specifically, a locking groove) on its outer circumferential surface. The locking portion 76b is engaged with the through-hole 21 via the above-mentioned rubber part. The rubber part is, for example, annular and is provided around the entire circumference between the locking portion 76b and the through-hole 21. The nozzle member 76 is formed with a steam discharge port 76a, which is an opening through which steam is discharged toward the culture chamber 20. The steam discharge port 76a constitutes the downstream end of the steam passage connected to the outlet 74a. The diameter of the steam discharge port 76a is larger than the diameter of the outlet 74a.

[0034] The nozzle member 76 covers the tip of the discharge pipe 75 and is made of a material with lower thermal conductivity than metal, such as a resin such as polycarbonate. The rubber part provided between the engaging portion 76b of the nozzle member 76 and the through-hole 21 of the inner box 2a is made of a rubber material (e.g., silicone rubber) with thermal conductivity equivalent to or lower than that of the resin constituting the nozzle member 76. The inclusion of such a rubber part reduces heat transfer from the discharge pipe 75 to the inner box 2a via the nozzle member 76, improves airtightness at the fitting portion of the nozzle member 76, and further suppresses gas leakage from the inner box 2a. The rubber part described above may be omitted. In other words, the nozzle member 76 may be directly fixed to the inner box 2a.

[0035] The steam supply device 7 configured as described above operates as follows. When humidification of the culture chamber 20 is required, the control device 100 operates the pump 72. The control device 100 is configured to be able to adjust the water delivery rate by the pump 72. When the pump 72 operates, water in the tank 71 is supplied into the evaporation chamber C from the inlet 73a.

[0036] The inlet 73a is composed of an inner edge 73b and an outer edge 73c through which water passes, and a recess 80a having a concave shape is formed between the outer edge 73c and the lid 80. Therefore, the surface tension of the water supplied from the inlet 73a is kept constant by the circumferential length of the outer edge 73c. ​​This allows the size of the water droplets to be kept constant. In this embodiment, the outer edge 73c is circular with a diameter of 2 mm, and the inlet 73a can dispense approximately 0.03 g of water droplets per droplet. By supplying water from the tank 71 drop by drop through the inlet 73a into the evaporation chamber C using the pump 72, a constant amount of steam can be generated. This prevents excessive steam from being supplied to the culture chamber 20, and prevents water droplets from adhering due to condensation within the culture chamber 20.

[0037] Water supplied into the evaporation chamber C from the inlet 73a turns into droplets and falls drop by drop onto the bottom surface 84. The bottom surface 84 is heated by the heater 81. Therefore, when the water droplets come into contact with the bottom surface 84, they immediately evaporate and generate steam. The generation of steam momentarily increases the pressure inside the evaporation chamber C, and it becomes higher than the pressure inside the culture chamber 20. Therefore, the steam leaves the evaporation chamber C through the outlet 74a, passes through the discharge pipe 75, and is discharged into the culture chamber 20 from the steam discharge port 76a.

[0038] The control device 100 can adjust the rate of change in humidity in the culture chamber 20 by adjusting the water delivery rate (i.e., the number of drops per unit time) by the pump 72. Therefore, by increasing the water delivery rate by the pump 72, the humidity in the culture chamber 20 can be increased more quickly. In addition, steam is generated in an evaporation chamber C separate from the culture chamber 20, and only the generated steam is supplied to the culture chamber 20, so that water droplets do not adhere to the culture chamber.

[0039] The control device 100 may operate the pump 72 on the condition that a door, specifically the outer door 3a or the inner door 3b, is closed. This prevents high-temperature steam from being discharged into the culture chamber 20 while the door is open and a user is working inside the culture chamber 20. The control device 100 can determine that the door is closed from the detection result of the door sensor or the operation of the operating device 50, etc.

[0040] When the falling water droplets come into contact with the bottom surface 84, the Leidenfrost phenomenon may occur. When the Leidenfrost phenomenon occurs, the water droplets that come into contact with the bottom surface 84 become spherical and move irregularly inside the evaporation chamber C. At this time, the spherical water droplets may burst and enter the outlet 74a, potentially reaching the culture chamber 20. If the water droplets reach the culture chamber 20, they may adhere to the inner surface of the inner box 2a or the surface of the duct 5, which may cause contamination.

[0041] However, the evaporator 74 has a wall surface 85 that rises from the bottom surface 84 at the boundary between the upstream region 87 and the downstream region 88. Therefore, even if the Leidenfrost phenomenon occurs, the spherical water droplets moving on the bottom surface 84 are blocked by the wall surface 85 and cannot move to the downstream region 88. In other words, it is possible to prevent the spherical water droplets from bursting and entering the outlet 74a, and ultimately from reaching the culture chamber 20 and causing adhesion of water droplets within the culture chamber 20. In other words, the wall surface 85 that rises from the bottom surface 84 is one aspect of a water droplet passage prevention mechanism that prevents water droplets from passing from the upstream region 87 to the downstream region 88.

[0042] In this embodiment, the heater 81 is disposed at approximately the same height as the bottom surface 84 and to the side of the bottom surface 84 (to the right in this embodiment). In other words, the heater 81 is disposed at a position intersecting with a horizontal plane including the bottom surface 84. That is, the heater 81 is disposed at a position close to the bottom surface 84. Therefore, the heat generated by the heater 81 can be efficiently transferred to the bottom surface 84.

[0043] Furthermore, the heater 81 has a rod-like shape. The heater 81 is arranged so that the tip (specifically, the front end) of the heater 81 is located closer to the culture chamber 20 than the outlet 74a. Therefore, the passage through which the steam flows between the outlet 74a and the steam outlet 76a can be heated by the tip side portion of the heater 81. This makes it possible to prevent the steam from cooling and condensing in the passage after leaving the evaporation chamber C. This makes it possible to prevent water droplets generated by condensation from entering the culture chamber 20 along with the flow of steam generated in the evaporation chamber C. The heater 81 may also be arranged so as to penetrate the evaporator 74.

[0044] In this embodiment, the second bottom surface 86 is located at a higher position than the bottom surface 84. Therefore, by disposing the heater 81 at a position directly below the second bottom surface 86, the tip side portion of the heater 81 can be brought closer to the passage through which the steam flows, and the passage can be heated more efficiently. Moreover, by bringing the heater 81 closer to the second bottom surface 86, the heater 81 can be brought closer to the bottom surface 84, at approximately the same height as the bottom surface 84. Therefore, the passage through which the steam flows can be efficiently heated by the heater 81, and the bottom surface 84 with which water droplets come into contact and evaporate can also be efficiently heated by the heater 81.

[0045] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the temperature sensor 82 is disposed directly below the bottom surface 84, i.e., near the bottom surface 84. Therefore, the temperature sensor 82 can accurately detect the temperature of the bottom surface 84. Consequently, the control device 100 can control the heater 81 so that the amount of heat generated by the heater 81 is appropriate. Note that stainless steel has relatively low thermal conductivity among metals. Therefore, if the distance between the bottom surface 84 and the temperature sensor 82 increases, it becomes difficult to accurately detect the temperature of the bottom surface 84. However, in this embodiment, the temperature sensor 82 is disposed directly below the bottom surface 84, so that the temperature sensor 82 can accurately detect the temperature of the bottom surface 84 even if the evaporator 74 is formed of a material with relatively low thermal conductivity, such as stainless steel.

[0046] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the nozzle member 76 is formed of a material with lower thermal conductivity than metal. Therefore, at least the surface of the nozzle member 76 facing the culture chamber 20 is at a lower temperature than the evaporator 74 and the discharge pipe 75. Therefore, even if the heater 81 heats the evaporator 74 and further heats the discharge pipe 75, it is possible to prevent a user working in the culture chamber 20 from coming into contact with a hot part and being burned. In other words, the nozzle member 76 functions as a burn prevention member. Furthermore, the nozzle member 76 can prevent the culture chamber 20 from being locally heated by heat from the heater 81 passing through the discharge pipe 75, causing an uneven temperature distribution within the culture chamber 20.

[0047] Furthermore, the nozzle member 76 has a lower temperature than the evaporator 74 and the discharge pipe 75. Therefore, when steam comes into contact with the nozzle member 76, condensation occurs on the surface of the nozzle member 76. However, in this embodiment, the diameter of the steam discharge port 76a is larger than the diameter of the outlet 74a. Therefore, the steam that passes through the passage and reaches the steam discharge port 76a is ejected into the culture chamber 20 without coming into contact with the nozzle member 76. Furthermore, the expansion of the steam flow path reduces the pressure of the steam, making condensation less likely to occur and less likely to form water droplets. Therefore, condensation on the surface of the nozzle member 76 can be reliably prevented.

[0048] In this embodiment, the diameter of the outlet 74a is 6 mm, the diameter of the steam outlet 76a is 3 mm, and the diameter of the outer edge 73c of the inlet 73a is 2 mm; the diameter of the steam outlet 76a is larger than the diameter of the outlet 74a, and the diameter of the outlet 74a is larger than the diameter of the outer edge 73c of the inlet 73a. This prevents the pressure inside the evaporation chamber C from becoming too high when the water droplets evaporate, and allows the steam to be ejected into the culture chamber 20 through the outlet 74a and the steam outlet 76a. The higher the steam pressure, the more likely condensation occurs, so steam can be supplied to the culture chamber 20 without generating water droplets.

[0049] Note that the heater 81 is a heater that evaporates water, and therefore its temperature is much higher than that of the culture chamber heater 6, which maintains the temperature inside the culture chamber 20 at a temperature suitable for culture. Therefore, if the heat from the heater 81 is transmitted into the culture chamber 20, there is a risk of uneven temperature distribution occurring inside the culture chamber 20. However, in this embodiment, the heater 81 is disposed at a position away from the inner box 2a. Specifically, the heater 81 is disposed so that an insulating space 2d is interposed between the heater 81 and the inner box 2a. This prevents the heat generated by the heater 81 from being transmitted to the culture chamber 20 and causing uneven temperature distribution inside the culture chamber 20. This effect can be enhanced by the insulating covering 79 (see FIG. 1) that covers the evaporator 74.

[0050] [3. Modifications] The culture device according to the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit thereof.

[0051] For example, the evaporator 74 may have the structure shown in FIG. 5. FIG. 5 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. 3. The evaporator 74 shown in FIG. 5 differs from the evaporator 74 according to the previous embodiment in the following respects. Specifically, a wall surface 85 rising from the bottom surface 84 is formed as a side surface of a partition 90 disposed in the evaporation chamber C. A gap is formed between the upper end of the partition 90 and the lid 80. Furthermore, the second bottom surface 86 is formed at the same height as the bottom surface 84. Even in the modified example shown in FIG. 5, even if the Leidenfrost phenomenon occurs in the upstream region 87, steam generated in the upstream region 87 can be transported to the downstream region 88 while preventing spherical water droplets from moving from the upstream region 87 to the downstream region 88. The partition 90 having the wall surface 85 is one aspect of a water droplet passage prevention mechanism that prevents water droplets from passing from the upstream region 87 to the downstream region 88.

[0052] Furthermore, the water droplet passage prevention mechanism that prevents water droplets from passing from the upstream region 87 to the downstream region 88 does not necessarily have to include the wall surface 85 that rises from the bottom surface 84. For example, the water droplet passage prevention mechanism may be configured by a mesh member having a mesh size that allows steam to pass through while capturing water droplets. The evaporator 74 having the wall surface 85 shown in FIG. 3 or FIG. 5 may further include such a mesh member.

[0053] In addition, the upstream region may be located at the rear side of the evaporation chamber, and the downstream region may be located at the front side. In other words, the wall surface 85 may be disposed so as to be perpendicular to the direction in which the discharge pipe 75 extends (front-rear direction).

[0054] The disclosures of the specification, claims, drawings, and abstract contained in Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-33494, filed on March 4, 2022, are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. [Industrial Applicability]

[0055] The present disclosure is suitably used as a culture device for culturing cultures of cells, microorganisms, and the like. [Explanation of symbols]

[0056] 1 Culture device 2 box body 2a Inner box 21 Through hole 2b Outer box 2c Insulation 2d Insulated Space 2e cover 3a outer door 3b Inner door 4 shelves 5 Duct 5a Intake port 5b Air outlet 5c circulation blower 6. Heater for incubation room 7 Steam supply device 12a, 12b Gas supply device 13 Electrical box 20 Culture room 21 Aperture 50 Operating device 71 Tank 72 Pump 73 Supply pipe 73a entrance 73b Inner edge 73c outer edge 74 Evaporator 74a exit 75 Discharge pipe 76 Nozzle member 76a Steam outlet 76b Locking part 77 cases 78 Pillar 79 Thermal insulation covering 80 Lid 80a recess 81 Heater 82 Temperature Sensor 83 Safety equipment 84 bottom 85 Wall 86 2nd bottom surface 87 Upstream region 88 Downstream area 89 Virtual Surface 90 Folding screen 100 control device K gas passage P1 packing M Machine room W water C. Evaporation chamber

Claims

1. an evaporator that evaporates the dripped water and supplies steam to the culture chamber; a heater for heating the evaporator, the evaporator includes a water droplet passage prevention mechanism between an upstream region where the water inlet and the bottom surface in contact with the water are present and a downstream region where the steam outlet is present; The water droplet passage prevention mechanism includes a mesh member disposed at the boundary between the upstream region and the downstream region. Culture device.

2. an evaporator that evaporates the dripped water and supplies steam to the culture chamber; a heater for heating the evaporator, the evaporator includes a water droplet passage prevention mechanism between an upstream region where the water inlet and the bottom surface in contact with the water are present and a downstream region where the steam outlet is present; The heater has a rod-like shape, and a tip of the heater is located closer to the culture chamber than the outlet. Culture device.

3. an evaporator that evaporates the dripped water and supplies steam to the culture chamber; a heater for heating the evaporator; a temperature sensor; the evaporator includes a water droplet passage prevention mechanism between an upstream region where the water inlet and the bottom surface in contact with the water are present and a downstream region where the steam outlet is present; the temperature sensor is disposed directly below the bottom surface; The heater is configured to change the amount of heat generated based on the detection result of the temperature sensor. Culture device.

4. an evaporator that evaporates the dripped water and supplies steam to the culture chamber; a heater for heating the evaporator, the evaporator includes a water droplet passage prevention mechanism between an upstream region where the water inlet and the bottom surface in contact with the water are present and a downstream region where the steam outlet is present; The water droplet passage prevention mechanism includes a wall surface that rises from the bottom surface at the boundary between the upstream region and the downstream region. Culture device.

5. The evaporator has a second bottom surface in the downstream region that is continuous with an upper end of the wall surface. The culture device according to claim 4.

6. The water droplet passage prevention mechanism includes a partition having the wall surface. The culture device according to claim 4.

7. The heater is disposed at a position substantially flush with the bottom surface and to the side of the bottom surface. The culture device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

8. an inner box surrounding the culture chamber; a nozzle member fixed to the inner box and having a steam outlet at the downstream end of a steam passage connected to the outlet; The culture device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

9. The diameter of the steam outlet is larger than the diameter of the outlet. The culture device according to claim 8.

10. The heater is disposed away from the inner box. The culture device according to claim 8.

11. A door for opening and closing the culture chamber; a pump for supplying the water to the inlet; and a control device that operates the pump on the condition that the door is closed. The culture device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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