Condensation prevention device for carbon dioxide cell incubator

Abstract

The present invention relates to a condensation prevention device for a carbon dioxide cell culture system. More specifically, the invention involves installing a condensation prevention heating wire on the inner wall (side wall, top wall, rear wall, and inner door wall) of the main body of the cell culture system and varying the driving voltage supplied to the condensation prevention heating wire according to the ambient temperature where the cell culture system is installed, as detected by an external temperature sensor, so that the surface temperature of the inner wall of the cell culture chamber inside the cell culture system is maintained at an appropriate temperature where condensation does not occur. Consequently, when the ambient temperature where the cell culture system is installed is higher than a reference temperature (25℃), the amount of heat generated by the condensation prevention heating wire is reduced in proportion to this, and when it is lower than the reference temperature (25℃), the amount of heat generated by the condensation prevention heating wire is increased, thereby minimizing heat loss from the main body of the cell culture system to the outside. This allows the surface temperature of the inner wall of the cell culture system to be controlled to maintain a temperature of 37℃ where condensation does not occur, thereby inhibiting the proliferation of microorganisms and enabling cell culture in an optimal state. This concerns a condensation prevention device.

Description

Technology Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a condensation prevention device for a carbon dioxide cell culture system. More specifically, the invention involves installing a condensation prevention heating wire on the inner wall (side wall, top wall, rear wall, and inner door wall) of the main body of the cell culture system and varying the driving voltage supplied to the condensation prevention heating wire according to the ambient temperature where the cell culture system is installed, as detected by an external temperature sensor, so that the surface temperature of the inner wall of the cell culture chamber inside the cell culture system is maintained at an appropriate temperature where condensation does not occur. Consequently, when the ambient temperature where the cell culture system is installed is higher than a reference temperature (25℃), the amount of heat generated by the condensation prevention heating wire is reduced in proportion to this, and when it is lower than the reference temperature (25℃), the amount of heat generated by the condensation prevention heating wire is increased, thereby minimizing heat loss from the main body of the cell culture system to the outside. This allows the surface temperature of the inner wall of the cell culture system to be controlled to maintain a temperature of 37℃ where condensation does not occur, thereby inhibiting the proliferation of microorganisms and enabling cell culture in an optimal state. This concerns a condensation prevention device. Background Technology

[0003] Figures 1 to 3 are drawings showing a conventional carbon dioxide cell culture system.

[0004] Referring to the above drawing, the configuration of a conventional carbon dioxide cell culture system is described as follows.

[0005] Conventional carbon dioxide cell culture systems

[0006] A main body (1) having a cell culture room (3) inside and an opening / closing door (2) installed on the front;

[0007] A carbon dioxide valve (6) installed on a carbon dioxide supply line connecting the carbon dioxide tank (4) and the main body (1), which controls the carbon dioxide supply amount supplied to the cell culture room (3) by opening and closing, thereby controlling the carbon dioxide concentration in the cell culture room (3);

[0008] A nitrogen valve (7) installed on a nitrogen supply line connecting the nitrogen tank (5) and the main body (1), which controls the oxygen concentration in the cell culture room (3) by controlling the amount of nitrogen supplied to the cell culture room (3) through an opening and closing operation;

[0009] A main heater (8) installed on the bottom of the main body (1) to control the internal temperature of the cell culture room (3);

[0010] A control panel (9) installed on the front of the door (2), equipped with a plurality of input buttons for controlling the functions of the cell culture device, and displaying the operating status of the cell culture device on a screen;

[0011] An internal temperature sensor (10) for detecting the internal temperature of a cell culture room (3);

[0012] A carbon dioxide sensor (11) for detecting the amount of carbon dioxide inside the cell culture room (3);

[0013] An oxygen sensor (12) that detects the amount of oxygen inside the cell culture room (3);

[0014] A control unit (13) that controls the opening and closing of the carbon dioxide valve (6) and the nitrogen valve (7) according to the carbon dioxide concentration and oxygen concentration information inside the cell culture room (3) detected by the carbon dioxide sensor (11) and the oxygen sensor (12) so that the carbon dioxide concentration inside the cell culture room (3) is maintained at 5% and the oxygen concentration at 10%, and controls the main heater (8) according to the temperature information inside the cell culture room (3) detected by the internal temperature sensor (10) so that the internal temperature of the cell culture room (3) is maintained at 37℃.

[0015] The operation of a conventional carbon dioxide cell culture system configured in this manner is explained as follows.

[0016] The carbon dioxide cell culture device maintains the interior of the cell culture room (3) under conditions suitable for cell culture, thereby culturing experimental cells without contamination.

[0017] The user can set the conditions (temperature, carbon dioxide concentration, oxygen concentration) inside the cell culture room (3) by operating the input button provided on the control panel (9), and the control unit (13) controls the main heater (8), carbon dioxide valve (6), and nitrogen valve (7) according to the condition information set through the control panel (9) so that the inside of the cell culture room (3) is maintained at conditions suitable for cell culture.

[0018] Conditions suitable for cell culture are to maintain the internal temperature of the cell culture room (3) at 37°C, the carbon dioxide concentration at 5%, the oxygen concentration at 10%, and the humidity at 85-93%.

[0019] In order to maintain humidity, a humidification tray not shown is installed on the bottom of the cell culture room (3) and filled with water to allow natural humidification, thereby maintaining the internal humidity of the cell culture room (3) at 85~93%.

[0020] And, according to the PID (Proportional Integral Derivative) control of the control unit (13), the main heater (8) operates to maintain the internal temperature of the cell culture room (3) at 37℃, and also, according to the PID control of the control unit (13), the carbon dioxide valve (6) and the nitrogen valve (7) are opened and closed so that the carbon dioxide concentration of the cell culture room (3) is maintained at 5% and the oxygen concentration at 10%.

[0022] However, conventional carbon dioxide cell culture systems had a problem in that when there was a difference between the internal and external temperatures of the cell culture room, heat was lost from the inside of the cell culture room to the outside, and due to this heat loss, the temperature of the inner wall of the cell culture room dropped to 37°C or lower, causing condensation to form on the inner wall of the cell culture room. This condensation caused microorganisms or mold to proliferate, contaminating the cells being cultured inside the cell culture room. The problem to be solved

[0024] Accordingly, the present invention, which aims to solve the above problems, is configured to install a condensation prevention heating wire on the inner wall (side wall, top wall, rear wall, inner door wall) of the main body of the cell culturer and vary the driving voltage supplied to the condensation prevention heating wire according to the ambient temperature where the cell culturer is installed detected by an external temperature sensor, so that the surface temperature of the inner wall of the cell culture room inside the cell culturer is maintained at an appropriate temperature where condensation does not occur. By doing so, when the ambient temperature where the cell culturer is installed is higher than the reference temperature (25℃), the amount of heat generated by the condensation prevention heating wire is lowered in proportion to this, and when it is lower than the reference temperature (25℃), the amount of heat generated by the condensation prevention heating wire is increased so that almost no heat loss occurs from the main body of the cell culturer to the outside, thereby controlling the inner wall surface temperature of the cell culturer to be maintained at 37℃ where condensation does not occur, and accordingly, by preventing condensation from occurring on the inner wall of the cell culturer, the proliferation of microorganisms is suppressed, allowing cells to be cultured in an optimal state. means of solving the problem

[0026] The present invention for achieving the above objective

[0027] A main body (1) having a cell culture room (3) inside and an opening / closing door (2) installed on the front;

[0028] A condensation prevention device for a carbon dioxide cell culture system comprising: a control unit (26) that controls the opening and closing of a carbon dioxide valve (6) and a nitrogen valve (7) according to carbon dioxide concentration and oxygen concentration information inside the cell culture room (3) detected by a carbon dioxide sensor (11) and an oxygen sensor (12) to maintain a carbon dioxide concentration of 5% and an oxygen concentration of 10% inside the cell culture room (3), and controls a main heater (8) according to temperature information inside the cell culture room (3) detected by an internal temperature sensor (10) to maintain the internal temperature of the cell culture room (3) at 37℃;

[0029] Condensation prevention heating wires (21) installed on the inner wall of the main body (1) and the inner wall of the door (2), respectively;

[0030] It further includes an external temperature sensor (20) that detects the external temperature, and

[0031] The control unit (26) is characterized by being configured to maintain the inner wall surface temperature of the cell culture vessel at 37℃ by proportionally controlling the condensation prevention heating wire (21) according to whether the external temperature detected by the external temperature sensor (20) is higher or lower than the reference temperature (25℃). Effects of the invention

[0033] According to the present invention, when the ambient temperature where the cell culture device is installed is higher than the reference temperature (25℃), the amount of heat generated by the condensation prevention heating wire is lowered in proportion to this, and when the ambient temperature is lower than the reference temperature (25℃), the amount of heat generated by the condensation prevention heating wire is increased so that almost no heat loss is consumed from the main body of the cell culture device to the outside, thereby controlling the temperature of the inner wall surface of the cell culture device to be maintained at 37℃ where no condensation occurs. Accordingly, as condensation does not occur on the inner wall of the cell culture device, the proliferation of microorganisms is suppressed, and the effect of culturing cells in an optimal state can be expected. Brief explanation of the drawing

[0035] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a conventional carbon dioxide cell culture system. FIG. 2 is a side view showing a conventional carbon dioxide cell culture system. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a control block of a conventional carbon dioxide cell culture system. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a condensation prevention device of a carbon dioxide cell culture device according to the present invention. FIG. 5 is a front view and a plan view showing the condensation prevention device of the carbon dioxide cell culture device of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a condensation prevention device of a carbon dioxide cell culture system according to the present invention. Specific details for implementing the invention

[0036] Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the attached drawings, FIGS. 4 to 6.

[0037] According to the above drawings, the condensation prevention device of the carbon dioxide cell culture device of the present invention

[0038] A main body (1) having a cell culture room (3) inside and an opening / closing door (2) installed on the front;

[0039] A condensation prevention device for a carbon dioxide cell culture system comprising: a control unit (26) that controls the opening and closing of a carbon dioxide valve (6) and a nitrogen valve (7) according to carbon dioxide concentration and oxygen concentration information inside the cell culture room (3) detected by a carbon dioxide sensor (11) and an oxygen sensor (12) to maintain a carbon dioxide concentration of 5% and an oxygen concentration of 10% inside the cell culture room (3), and controls a main heater (8) according to temperature information inside the cell culture room (3) detected by an internal temperature sensor (10) to maintain the internal temperature of the cell culture room (3) at 37℃;

[0040] Condensation prevention heating wires (21) installed on the inner wall of the main body (1) and the inner wall of the door (2), respectively;

[0041] It further includes an external temperature sensor (20) that detects the external temperature, and

[0042] The control unit (26) is characterized by being configured to maintain the inner wall surface temperature of the cell culture vessel at 37℃ by proportionally controlling the condensation prevention heating wire (21) according to whether the external temperature detected by the external temperature sensor (20) is higher or lower than the reference temperature (25℃).

[0043] Additionally, the condensation prevention heating wire (21) is composed of an upper heating wire (22) installed to be embedded in the upper inner wall of the main body (1), a rear heating wire (23) installed to be embedded in the rear inner wall of the main body (1), a side heating wire (24) installed to be embedded in the left and right side inner walls of the main body (1), and a door heating wire (25) installed to be embedded in the inner wall of the door (2), and the upper heating wire (22), rear heating wire (23), side heating wire (24) and door heating wire (25) have different resistance values ​​set according to their installation location and wiring length.

[0044] The control unit (26) is characterized by outputting a different driving voltage depending on the resistance values ​​of the upper heating wire (22), rear heating wire (23), side heating wire (24) and door heating wire (25).

[0045] In the description of the present invention, components identical to those in the prior art will be denoted by the same reference numerals to avoid redundant descriptions.

[0046] The operation of the condensation prevention device of the cell culture system of the present invention is described as follows.

[0047] The user can set the conditions (temperature, carbon dioxide concentration, oxygen concentration) inside the cell culture room (3) by operating the input button provided on the control panel (9), and the control unit (26) controls the main heater (8), carbon dioxide valve (6), and nitrogen valve (7) according to the condition information set through the control panel (9) so that the inside of the cell culture room (3) is maintained at conditions suitable for cell culture.

[0048] As previously explained, the conditions suitable for cell culture are to maintain the internal temperature of the cell culture room (3) at 37°C, the carbon dioxide concentration at 5%, the oxygen concentration at 10%, and the humidity at 85-93%. In order to maintain these conditions suitable for cell culture, the control unit (26) controls the main heater (8) using PID (Proportional Integral Derivative) and simultaneously controls the carbon dioxide valve (6) and the nitrogen valve (7) using PID, thereby maintaining the internal temperature of the cell culture room (3) at 37°C while maintaining the carbon dioxide concentration at 5% and the oxygen concentration at 10%.

[0049] In this state, the control unit (26) outputs different driving voltages to the upper heating wire (22), rear heating wire (23), side heating wire (14), and door heating wire (25) forming the condensation prevention heating wire (21) according to the external temperature detected by the external temperature sensor (20), thereby preventing condensation from occurring.

[0050] The upper heating wire (22) is installed so as to be embedded in the upper inner wall of the main body (1), the rear heating wire (23) is installed so as to be embedded in the rear inner wall of the main body (1), the side heating wire (24) is installed so as to be embedded in the left and right side inner walls of the main body (1), and the door heating wire (25) is installed so as to be embedded in the inner wall of the door (2). The upper heating wire (22), the rear heating wire (23), the side heating wire (24), and the door heating wire (25) have different resistance values ​​set according to their installation positions and wiring lengths. Accordingly, the control unit (26) outputs different driving voltages according to the resistance values ​​of the upper heating wire (22), the rear heating wire (23), the side heating wire (24), and the door heating wire (25) so that the amount of heat generated from each heating wire is controlled to the same level.

[0051] At this time, the control unit (26) compares whether the external temperature detected by the external temperature sensor (20) is higher or lower than the reference temperature (25℃).

[0052] If the external temperature is higher than the reference temperature (25℃), the heat consumed from the cell culture room (3) to the outside is reduced, so the voltage supplied to the condensation prevention heating wire (21) is reduced in proportion to that, and if the external temperature is lower than the reference temperature (25℃), the heat loss consumed from the cell culture room (3) to the outside is increased, so the voltage supplied to the condensation prevention heating wire (21) is increased in proportion to that, thereby increasing the amount of heat generated by the heating wire and offsetting the heat loss escaping to the outside, so that the surface temperature of the inner wall of the main body can be maintained at 37℃.

[0053] And, when the external temperature exceeds 30℃, the control unit (26) outputs a separate alarm sound so that the user can additionally adjust the external temperature, as the heat consumed to the outside is too small and it becomes difficult to maintain the internal temperature and internal surface temperature of the cell culture room (3) at 37℃. Explanation of the symbols

[0055] 1: Main body, 2: Door, 3: Cell culture room, 4: Carbon dioxide tank, 5: Nitrogen tank, 6: Carbon dioxide valve, 7: Nitrogen valve, 8: Main heater, 10: Internal temperature sensor, 11: Carbon dioxide sensor, 12: Oxygen sensor, 9: Control panel, 20: External temperature sensor, 21: Anti-condensation heating cable, 22: Top heating element, 23: Rear heating element, 24: Side heater, 25: Door heater, 26: Control unit, 27: Heating wire drive unit,

Claims

Claim 1 A condensation prevention device for a carbon dioxide cell culturer comprising: a main body (1) having a cell culture room (3) inside and an opening / closing door (2) installed on the front; a control unit (26) that controls the opening and closing of a carbon dioxide valve (6) and a nitrogen valve (7) according to carbon dioxide concentration and oxygen concentration information inside the cell culture room (3) detected by a carbon dioxide sensor (11) and an oxygen sensor (12) to maintain a carbon dioxide concentration of 5% and an oxygen concentration of 10% inside the cell culture room (3), and controls a main heater (8) according to internal temperature information inside the cell culture room (3) detected by an internal temperature sensor (10) to maintain the internal temperature of the cell culture room (3) at 37℃; a condensation prevention heating wire (21) installed on the inner wall of the main body (1) and the inner wall of the door (2), respectively; and an external temperature sensor (20) that detects the external temperature. The control unit (26) further includes the above, and is configured to proportionally control the condensation prevention heating wire (21) according to whether the external temperature detected by the external temperature sensor (20) is higher or lower than the reference temperature of 25℃, so as to maintain the surface temperature of the inner wall of the cell culture vessel at 37℃. The condensation prevention heating wire (21) is composed of an upper surface heating wire (22) installed to be embedded in the upper inner wall of the main body (1), a rear surface heating wire (23) installed to be embedded in the rear inner wall of the main body (1), a side surface heating wire (24) installed to be embedded in the left and right side inner walls of the main body (1), and a door heating wire (25) installed to be embedded in the inner wall of the door (2). The upper surface heating wire (22), the rear surface heating wire (23), the side surface heating wire (24), and the door heating wire (25) have different resistance values ​​set according to their installation location and wiring length. The control unit (26) includes the upper surface heating wire (22), the rear surface heating wire (23), A condensation prevention device for a carbon dioxide cell culture system characterized by outputting a different driving voltage depending on the resistance values ​​of the side heating wire (24) and the door heating wire (25). Claim 2 delete

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