Workpiece pedestal plate, workpiece, and cell culture system

Abstract

This workpiece pedestal plate is attachable to and detachable from an upper surface of a tray of a heat sealer, and is for placing thereon a workpiece that is heat-sealed by the heat sealer. The workpiece pedestal plate comprises: a placement part that has a support surface for supporting the workpiece from below; a base part that can be placed on the upper surface of the tray; a positioning part that performs positioning with respect to the tray; and a supported part that is positioned above the base part and can be supported by a conveyance device from below.

Description

Workpiece base plate, workpiece, and cell culture system

[0001] This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2023-221538, filed on December 27, 2023, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] Patent Literature 1 discloses a cell culture system that uses a well plate to perform microfluidic cell culture, in which cells are injected into each well of the well plate using a manifold to automate operations such as heating.

[0003] Japanese Patent No. 6232383

[0004] In cell culture systems such as those described in Patent Document 1, the surface of a workpiece such as a well plate may be heat-sealed with a film made of synthetic resin, aluminum, or the like. In this type of heat sealing, the workpiece, such as a well plate, must be accurately positioned on the heat sealer tray to prevent sealing failure. However, automatically transporting a workpiece, such as a well plate, and accurately positioning it on the heat sealer tray poses the problem of requiring a sensor or the like to detect the position of the workpiece, which can complicate the configuration.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide a work base plate, a work, and a cell culture system that can prevent poor sealing of automatically transported work without complicating the configuration.

[0006] A workpiece base plate according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a workpiece base plate that can be attached and detached to the upper surface of a tray of a heat sealer, and on which a workpiece body to be heat sealed by the heat sealer is placed, and is equipped with a placing portion having a support surface that supports the workpiece body from below, a base portion that can be placed on the upper surface of the tray, a positioning portion that positions the workpiece with respect to the tray, and a supported portion that is located above the base and can be supported from below by a conveying device.

[0007] A workpiece according to one aspect of the present disclosure comprises the workpiece base plate, the workpiece body placed on the workpiece base plate, and a workpiece tray that supports the workpiece body and the workpiece base plate from below.

[0008] A cell culture system according to one aspect of the present disclosure comprises an incubator having a culture area for growing cells in a culture medium, and a clean bench having a liquid handling area for performing dispensing operations on the workpiece, a transport device provided on the clean bench that is capable of transporting the workpiece base plate on which the workpiece body is placed, and a heat sealer provided on the clean bench that heat seals the workpiece body placed on the upper surface of the tray via the workpiece base plate.

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

[0010] Fig. 4 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a cell culture system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a heat sealer according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 6 is an exploded perspective view showing a state in which a work body and a work base plate according to an embodiment of the present disclosure are placed on a tray. Fig. 7 is an exploded perspective view of a tray and a work base plate according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line V-V in Fig. 3. Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a work including a well plate according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0011] First Embodiment A first embodiment of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to Figures 1 to 5. A cell culture system 100 of this embodiment is a system that performs unmanned and automatic cell culture and analysis of the cultured cells.

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

[0013] <Stocker> The stocker 110 is a facility for storing a plurality of workpieces W to be used in the incubator 130 or the clean bench 140. The stocker 110 has a stocker main body 111 that forms a storage area R1 therein, a workpiece storage device 112 that is arranged in the storage area R1 and is capable of storing a plurality of workpieces W, and a transport device (not shown) that is capable of removing the workpieces W stored in the workpiece storage device 112 and transporting them to the clean bench 140. Here, the workpieces W include at least a workpiece main body such as a flask (not shown) or a well plate (described later), and a workpiece tray (described later) that supports the workpiece main body. One workpiece W may include a plurality of workpiece main bodies of the same type.

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

[0015] <Clean bench> The clean bench 140 performs various operations and processes on the workpiece W, such as dispensing operations and removal of waste liquids. A liquid manipulation area R4, which is a highly clean and sterile space, is formed within the clean bench 140. The clean bench 140 has a transport device such as a transport device 113 for automatically transporting the workpiece W within the liquid manipulation area R4. In this embodiment, the liquid manipulation area R4 of the clean bench 140 is provided with a heat sealer 10 that automatically performs heat sealing on the workpiece body, such as a well plate or a deep well plate.

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

[0017] First door 150a switches between a communication state and a non-communication state between the space within pass box 150 and incubation area R3. Second door 150b switches between a communication state and a non-communication state between the space within pass box 150 and liquid handling area R4. First door 150a and second door 150b are never open at the same time, which prevents direct communication between incubation area R3 and liquid handling area R4.

[0018] <General Operation of Cell Culture System> In the cell culture system 100 configured as described above, cell proliferation is promoted by shaking the culture solution in the flask of the work W in the incubator 130. The work W in which cell proliferation has progressed is transferred to the liquid manipulation area R4 via the pass box 150. In the liquid manipulation area R4, the culture solution in the flask of the work W is dispensed, and medium is supplied to the flask.

[0019] On the other hand, when cell proliferation is performed using a new work W, the following procedure is performed, for example. First, the new work W including the flask is removed from the work storage device 112 and transported into the liquid handling area R4. In the liquid handling area R4, culture medium is supplied to the flask of the new work W that does not contain culture medium, and the culture medium is dispensed into the flask of the new work W from the flask of the work W transported from the liquid handling area R4 that contains culture medium where cell proliferation has progressed. This completes the cell subculture operation into the new work W. After the subculture operation, the new work W is transported to the incubator 130, where cell proliferation is performed, and the above process is repeated.

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

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

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

[0023] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a state in which a workpiece body and a workpiece base plate are placed on a tray according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the tray and the workpiece base plate according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line V-V in FIG. 3. <Tray> As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the tray 12 according to this embodiment is rectangular when viewed from above and is slidable in the longitudinal direction D1 of the rectangle. The workpiece body 21 exemplified in the description of this embodiment is a well plate 21A that is rectangular when viewed from above. The shape of the tray 12 when viewed from above is the same as or slightly larger than the rectangular well plate 21A. The tray 12 includes a tray body 15 and positioning pins 16.

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

[0025] <Well Plate> The well plate 21A of this embodiment is made of a synthetic resin such as polystyrene. The well plate 21A has a rough plate shape whose size in the up-down direction Dv is smaller than its sizes in the width direction Dw and the longitudinal direction Dl. As shown in Fig. 5, the well plate 21A includes at least a plurality of well portions 32, a connection portion 33, and an outer peripheral wall portion 34.

[0026] <Well Portion> As shown in FIG. 5 , the multiple well portions 32 are formed in a cylindrical shape with a bottom that extends in the vertical direction Dv and opens upward. In this embodiment, the well portions 32 have a so-called round bottom, but they may have a V-bottom or a flat bottom. Furthermore, the well portions 32 are shaped like cylinders with a circular cross section, but they may also have a cylindrical shape with a polygonal cross section. The openings 32a of the multiple well portions 32 are all formed at the same position in the vertical direction Dv. Similarly, the bottom portions 32b of the multiple well portions 32 are all formed at the same position in the vertical direction Dv. The multiple well portions 32 extend parallel to each other and are arranged, for example, at a predetermined interval in the width direction Dw and the longitudinal direction Dl.

[0027] <Connection Portion> The connection portion 33 connects the multiple well portions 32 together and also connects the multiple well portions 32 to the outer peripheral wall portion 34. In this embodiment, the connection portion 33 is formed in a flat plate shape that horizontally connects the uppermost portions of the well portions 32 and the outer peripheral wall portion 34 together. In this embodiment, the connection portion 33 has a rectangular outline that is long in the longitudinal direction Dl when viewed from above. Note that the connection portion 33 is not limited to connecting the uppermost portions of the well portions 32 and the outer peripheral wall portion 34 together. For example, the connection portion 33 may connect the middle portions of the well portions 32 and the outer peripheral wall portion 34 together in the up-down direction Dv. Furthermore, the connection portion 33 is not limited to a plate shape extending horizontally as long as it can connect the well portions 32 to the outer peripheral wall portion 34. For example, the connection portion 33 may be formed so as to fill the entire space between the well portions 32 and between the well portions 32 and the outer peripheral wall portion 34.

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

[0029] 3 to 5, the work base plate 17 is a member on which the well plate 21A to be heat sealed by the heat sealer 10 is placed. The work base plate 17 can be transported by the transport device 113 with the well plate 21A placed thereon, and can also be placed on the tray 12 with the well plate 21A placed thereon. As shown in Fig. 4, the work base plate 17 includes a placing portion 22, a base portion 23, a positioning portion 24, and a supported portion 25.

[0030] As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the mounting portion 22 of this embodiment has a support surface 26 and a restricting portion 27. The support surface 26 supports the well plate 21A from below. The outline of this support surface 26 viewed from above is rectangular, similar to the outline of the well plate 21A viewed from above. The restricting portion 27 rises upward from the outer edge of the support surface 26 and prevents the well plate 21A placed on the support surface 26 from shifting in the horizontal direction. The restricting portion 27 of this embodiment has a first wall portion 27a along the long side extending in the longitudinal direction Dl and a second wall portion 27b along the short side extending in the width direction Dw.

[0031] In this embodiment, the first wall portion 27a is formed in a portion of the longitudinal direction Dl of the mounting portion 22, and the second wall portion 27b is formed across the entire width direction Dw of the mounting portion 22, but the positions at which the first wall portion 27a and the second wall portion 27b are formed are not limited to the above positions as long as they are capable of suppressing horizontal displacement of the well plate 21A. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the case where the restricting portion 27 suppresses horizontal displacement of the well plate 21A is exemplified, but the configuration for suppressing horizontal displacement of the well plate 21A is not limited to this configuration.

[0032] <Convex portion> The support surface 26 of this embodiment has a convex portion 28. The convex portion 28 protrudes upward from inside the edge of the support surface 26. The convex portion 28 is formed so that it can press the well plate 21A placed on the placement portion 22 from below. The convex portion 28 of this embodiment has a rectangular outline that is long in the longitudinal direction Dl when viewed from above. The convex portion 28 also has a flat surface 29 that faces upward in the vertical direction Dv.

[0033] As shown in Fig. 4, the protrusion 28 exemplified in this embodiment has a chamfered portion 30 formed by linearly cutting out one corner of the rectangular shape. This chamfered portion 30 is provided for positioning the well plate 21A placed on the mounting portion 22, i.e., orienting the well plate 21A in a predetermined direction. The well plate 21A has a key (not shown) that fits into the portion cut out by the chamfered portion 30 only when the well plate 21A is placed on the mounting portion 22 in the predetermined direction. Note that the cutout and key may be provided as needed, and the shapes of the cutout and key are not limited to those shown in the embodiment.

[0034] 5, when the well plate 21A is placed on the mounting portion 22, the convex portion 28 contacts the well plate 21A from vertically below the well portions 32. In this embodiment, the flat surface 29 of the convex portion 28 is in uniform contact with the lowermost portions 32b of the multiple well portions 32. However, at this time, the convex portion 28 is not in contact with the outer peripheral wall portion 34 of the well plate 21A. Furthermore, in this embodiment, when the well plate 21A is placed on the mounting portion 22 and is not being pressed from above by the pusher 14, the convex portion 28 contacts the well portions 32, but the outer peripheral wall portion 34 contacts the inner surface of the restricting portion 27 of the mounting portion 22 and is slightly spaced upward from the support surface 26.

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

[0036] As shown in FIG. 4 , the positioning portion 24 positions the tray 12. In this embodiment, the positioning portion 24 includes positioning recesses 24a into which the pins 16 provided on the tray 12 can be inserted. In this embodiment, a plurality of positioning recesses 24a are provided. Furthermore, the number of positioning recesses 24a in this embodiment is the same as the number of pins 16, more specifically, two. These positioning recesses 24a include a first hole 24aa and a second hole 24ab. The first hole 24aa is not circular in plan view, and the second hole 24ab is elongated and extends in the width direction Dw in plan view. This allows for easy positioning of the work base plate 17 relative to the tray 12 while allowing for assembly errors and component processing errors. While this embodiment illustrates an example in which the positioning recesses 24a are holes that penetrate the work base plate 17 in the up-down direction Dv, they may also be non-penetrating holes.

[0037] The supported portions 25 are configured to be supportable from below by the transport device 113. The supported portions 25 are located above the base 23. In this embodiment, the supported portions 25 protrude outward in the longitudinal direction Dl from the restricting portions 27. A hand portion 113h of the transport device 113 can be inserted below these supported portions 25 from the width direction Dw. In addition, the supported portions 25 in this embodiment extend in the width direction Dw.

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

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

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

[0041] <Supporting Part> The supporting part 42 is a rod-shaped member extending upward from the base plate 41. A plurality of supporting parts 42 are provided, and the upper ends of these supporting parts 42 are at the same height. In the present embodiment, a case where four supporting parts 42 are provided on one work tray 40 is exemplified. The number of supporting parts 42 provided on one work tray 40 may be three, five or more.

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

[0043] <Plate> The plate 44 extends upward from the work tray 40. The well plate unit W1 of this embodiment includes two plate sections 44 of the same shape, each of which is a flat plate extending upward from two edges 43a, 43b of the upper mounting plate 43 extending in the longitudinal direction Dl. These two plate sections 44 sandwich the well plates 21A, which are stacked and mounted on the upper mounting plate 43, from both outer sides in the width direction Dw. The well plates 21A and the work base plate 17 are movable between these plate sections 44 in the up-down direction Dv.

[0044] <Movement of Well Plate> The well plate unit W1 configured as described above is removed from the work storage device 112 and transported to the clean bench 140. Within the clean bench 140, the work base plate 17 on which the well plate 21A is placed is lifted upward and separated from the well plate unit W1. After filtering, dispensing, and other operations are performed, the uppermost well plate 21A of the multiple stacked well plates 21A is removed and transported to the heat sealer 10 described above. Next, the well plate 21A and the work base plate 17 are placed on the tray 12 by the transport device 113, and the work base plate 17 is positioned on the tray 12. Thereafter, the well plate 21A moves into the heat sealer 10 together with the tray 12, where the film 13 is heated and pressed by the pusher 14 for heat sealing. The heat-sealed well plate 21A is moved to the outside of the heat sealer 10, and is detached from the tray 12 together with the work base plate 17 by the transport device 113 and transported.

[0045] (Effects) With the workpiece base plate 17 of the above embodiment, the base 23 can be placed on the upper surface 15a of the tray 12 of the heat sealer 10 while the support surface 26 of the mounting portion 22 supports the workpiece body 21 from below, and at that time, the positioning portion 24 can be used to position the workpiece body 21 relative to the tray 12. In addition, the conveying device 113 can support the supported portion 25 located above the base 23 from below. This allows the workpiece body 21 to be easily and accurately positioned on the tray 12 of the heat sealer 10. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the occurrence of poor sealing in the heat sealer 10 without complicating the configuration for automatically conveying the workpiece body 21.

[0046] Furthermore, according to the workpiece base plate 17 of the above embodiment, the convex portion 28 protrudes upward from inside the outer edge of the support surface 26, allowing the workpiece body 21 to be pressed from below. Therefore, by pressing from above with the pusher 14 of the heat sealer 10, the portion of the workpiece body 21 located near the outer edge of the support surface 26 is bent downward and released, while the portion located inside the outer edge of the support surface 26 can be clamped and pressed from both above and below. Therefore, even if the magnitude of the vertical direction Dv near the outer edge of the workpiece body 21 is large due to manufacturing variations, etc., it is possible to prevent a decrease in the compressive force acting on the portion inside the outer edge of the workpiece body 21. This prevents poor sealing in the portion inside the outer edge of the workpiece body 21.

[0047] In the above embodiment, the tray 12 has the pin 16 protruding upward, and the positioning portion 24 has the positioning recess 24a into which the pin 16 can be inserted. As a result, the workpiece base plate 17 can be easily positioned on the tray 12 by inserting the pin 16 of the tray 12 into the positioning recess 24a.

[0048] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the work body 21 is a well plate 21A formed of a synthetic resin in a plate shape with the thickness direction being the vertical direction Dv, and including multiple wells 32 recessed from top to bottom, located inside the outer edge. The convex portion 28 is configured to contact the well plate 21A from vertically below the wells 32. This allows a compressive force to be applied evenly to the openings 32a of the multiple wells 32. This prevents liquid injected into one well 32 from leaking and mixing with the liquid in another well 32.

[0049] In the above embodiment, the outline of the well plate 21A as viewed from above and the outline of the convex portion 28 as viewed from above are both rectangular. As a result, when the outline of the well plate 21A as viewed from above is rectangular, the convex portion 28 having a rectangular outline can efficiently press and heat seal a wider area of ​​the well plate 21A that is inside the outer edge.

[0050] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the mounting portion 22 is provided with a restricting portion 27 that extends upward from the outer edge of the support surface 26 and restricts horizontal displacement of the work bodies 21, 21A. This makes it possible to restrict horizontal displacement of the work bodies 21, 21A relative to the mounting portion 22, thereby further improving the reliability of heat sealing of the work bodies 21, 21A in the heat sealer 10.

[0051] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the workpiece W includes a workpiece base plate 17, a workpiece main body 21 placed on the workpiece base plate 17, and a workpiece tray 40 that supports the workpiece main body 21 and the workpiece base plate 17 from below. This allows the workpiece W to be transported or stored while being supported from below by the workpiece tray 40, and when heat sealing is to be performed, the workpiece base plate 17 can be lifted and separated from the workpiece tray 40, and the workpiece base plate 17 and the workpiece main body 21 can be placed on the tray 12 of the heat sealer 10.

[0052] The cell culture system 100 of the above embodiment includes an incubator 130 having a culture area R3 for growing cells in a culture solution, and a clean bench 140 having a liquid handling area R4 for performing dispensing operations on the workpiece W. The cell culture system 100 also includes a transport device 113 provided on the clean bench 140 that can transport the workpiece base plate 17 on which the workpiece bodies 21, 21A are placed, and a heat sealer 10 provided on the clean bench 140 that heat seals the workpiece bodies 21, 21A placed on the upper surface of the tray 12 via the workpiece base plate 17. This improves the reliability of heat sealing on the workpiece W in the cell culture system 100, which automatically transports the workpiece W and performs dispensing operations using the clean bench 140 while also growing cells using the incubator 130.

[0053] Other Embodiments Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above in detail with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and design modifications and the like are also included within the scope of the present disclosure. In the above embodiment, the well plate 21A was used as an example of the work body 21, but the work body is not limited to a well plate as long as it is a work body that can be heat-sealed by the heat sealer 10. For example, a deep well plate or the like may also be used.

[0054] In the above embodiment, the support surface 26 of the mounting portion 22 has the convex portion 28. However, if the pusher 14 can stably press the film 13 against the periphery of the opening 32a of the well plate 21A, the convex portion 28 may be omitted.

[0055] In the above embodiment, the protrusions 28 are configured to be able to press against all of the wells 32 of the well plate 21A that are the target of heat sealing from vertically below. However, the protrusions 28 may be configured to be able to press against only some of the wells 32 from vertically below.

[0056] <Additional Notes> The workpiece base plate, the workpiece, and the cell culture system described in each embodiment can be understood, for example, as follows.

[0057] (1) The workpiece base plate 17 according to the first aspect is detachably attached to the upper surface of the tray 12 of the heat sealer 10, and is a workpiece base plate 17 on which a workpiece body 21, 21A to be heat sealed by the heat sealer 10 is placed, and is equipped with a placing portion 22 having a support surface 26 that supports the workpiece body 21, 21A from below, a base 23 that can be placed on the upper surface of the tray 12, a positioning portion 24 that positions the workpiece with respect to the tray 12, and a supported portion 25 that is located above the base 23 and can be supported from below by a conveying device 113. Examples of workpiece bodies include well plates and deep well plates.

[0058] This allows the work bodies 21, 21A to be easily and accurately positioned on the tray 12 of the heat sealer 10, and as a result, it is possible to prevent poor sealing in the heat sealer 10 without complicating the configuration for automatically transporting the work bodies 21.

[0059] (2) The work base plate 17 according to the second aspect is the work base plate 17 of (1), further comprising a protrusion 28 provided on the support surface 26, protruding upward from inside the outer edge of the support surface 26, and capable of pressing the work body 21, 21A from below.

[0060] This makes it possible to prevent poor sealing from occurring in the area inside the outer edge of the work body 21.

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

[0062] This allows the workpiece base plate 17 to be easily positioned on the tray 12 by inserting the pins 16 of the tray 12 into the positioning recesses 24a.

[0063] (4) The work base plate 17 according to the fourth aspect is the work base plate 17 of (3), and is provided with a plurality of the pins 16 and a plurality of positioning recesses 24a into which the pins 16 can be inserted, and the plurality of positioning recesses 24a include a first hole portion 24aa that is circular in plan view and a second hole portion 24ab that is elongated in plan view.

[0064] This makes it possible to easily position the workpiece base plate 17 relative to the tray 12 while allowing for assembly errors and machining errors of parts.

[0065] (5) The work base plate 17 according to the fifth aspect is the work base plate 17 of (2), wherein the work body 21, 21A is plate-shaped and made of synthetic resin with the thickness direction being the vertical direction, and has a plurality of well portions 32 recessed from top to bottom inside the outer edge, and the convex portion 28 contacts the work body 21, 21A from vertically below the well portions 32.

[0066] This allows a compressive force to be applied uniformly to the openings 32a of multiple well portions 32, thereby preventing liquid injected into a well portion 32 from leaking and mixing with the liquid in other well portions 32.

[0067] (6) The work base plate 17 according to the sixth aspect is the work base plate 17 of (2), wherein the placing portion 22 further includes a regulating portion 27 extending upward from the outer edge of the support surface 26 to regulate horizontal displacement of the work body 21, 21A.

[0068] This makes it possible to prevent the work bodies 21, 21A from being displaced horizontally relative to the mounting portion 22, thereby further improving the reliability of heat sealing of the work bodies 21, 21A in the heat sealer 10.

[0069] (7) A workpiece according to a seventh aspect includes a workpiece base plate 17 according to any one of (1) to (6) and a workpiece tray 40 that supports from below the workpiece main body 21, 21A and the workpiece base plate 17. An example of the workpiece is a well plate unit.

[0070] This allows the work base plate 17 and the work body 21 to be transported or stored while being supported from below by the work tray 40, while when heat sealing is to be performed, the work base plate 17 can be lifted and separated from the work tray 40, and the work base plate 17 and the work body 21 can be placed on the tray 12 of the heat sealer 10.

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

[0072] This improves the reliability of heat sealing of the work bodies 21, 21A in the cell culture system 100, which automatically transports the work W from the stocker 110, performs dispensing operations using the clean bench 140, and grows cells using the incubator 130.

[0073] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of sealing defects without complicating the configuration.

[0074] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 Heat sealer 11 Device body 12 Tray 13 Film 14 Pusher 15 Tray body 15a Upper surface 16 Pin 17 Work base plate 21 Work body 21A Well plate 22 Placement portion 23 Base 23b Lower surface 24 Positioning portion 24a Positioning recess 24aa First hole portion 24ab Second hole portion 25 Supported portion 26 Support surface 27 Regulating portion 27a First wall portion 27b Second wall portion 28 Convex portion 29 Flat surface 30 Chamfered portion 32 Well portion 32a Opening 32b Bottom portion 33 Connection portion 34 Outer peripheral wall portion 40 Work tray 41 Base plate 42 Support portion 43 Upper placement plate 44 Plate portion 100 Cell culture system 110 Stocker 111 Stocker body 112 Work storage device 113 Conveyor device 113h Hand unit 130 Incubator 140 Clean bench 150 Pass box Dl Longitudinal direction Dv Vertical direction Dw Width direction R1 Storage area R3 Cultivation area R4 Liquid handling area W Work W1 Well plate unit

Claims

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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