Ventilation Adapter Culture Chamber for Compact CO2 Cell Culture
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing automatic culture devices are large and difficult to miniaturize due to the need for CO2 incubators, which are bulky to ensure airtightness and humidity control, and pose risks of rust and microbial growth, limiting their use in clean production facilities.
Innovation Solution
A compact culture device with a ventilation adapter that supplies humidified CO2 gas to culture vessels, using a dry incubator and mechanical elements to maintain temperature and perform operations, allowing multiple devices to be operated in a space-saving manner.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a CO2 incubator is used to maintain constant CO2 gas concentration and humidity for cell culture, then the culture environment is stable and suitable for cell growth, but the device size becomes large and difficult to miniaturize
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the culture system into separate functional modules: a dry incubator for temperature control, a separate humidified CO2 gas supply system, and a culture chamber. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized independently, enabling miniaturization while maintaining culture stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a humidified CO2 gas supply system as an intermediary that delivers both humidity and CO2 to the culture environment. This mediator eliminates the need for a large integrated CO2 incubator, as the gas is supplied externally in controlled amounts, enabling device miniaturization.
2Reliability
If the CO2 incubator is humidified to maintain culture conditions, then cell culture stability is improved, but mechanical elements such as swing mechanisms and cameras are prone to rust
Solution Approach 1:
The patent separates the humidification function from the mechanical element housing. The dry incubator maintains temperature without humidity, while a separate gas supply system provides humidified CO2 only to the culture chamber. This segmentation protects mechanical elements from rust while maintaining culture stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies humidity locally only where needed for cell culture (in the culture chamber), while keeping the overall device environment dry to protect mechanical components. This localized quality approach allows culture stability without exposing mechanical elements to corrosive humidity.
3Reliability
If the CO2 incubator is humidified for cell culture, then the culture environment is suitable, but there is a risk of microorganism generation that hinders use in clean production facilities
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the system into a dry incubator section and a separate humidified gas supply section. The culture chamber receives humidified CO2 through controlled gas flow, while the rest of the device remains dry. This segmentation reduces microorganism growth risk in non-culture areas while maintaining suitable culture conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a flow of humidified CO2 gas to create a controlled atmosphere in the culture chamber. This inert-like environment displaces air and reduces the presence of oxygen and other gases that support microorganism growth, while still providing the CO2 needed for cell culture.
4Ease of operation
If manual operations are used for cell culture manufacturing, then flexibility is maintained, but productivity is limited and costs are high
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs the automatic culture device with universal interfaces and standardized culture chambers that can accommodate different cell types and culture conditions. The device integrates multiple functions (temperature control, gas supply, humidification) into a single platform, enabling automated operation across various applications while maintaining operational flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements automated gas supply and environmental control systems that operate without continuous manual intervention. The device self-regulates temperature, CO2 concentration, and humidity levels, enabling unattended operation and increasing productivity while reducing labor costs and maintaining operational consistency.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution enables a reduction in device size, reduces the risk of rust and microbial growth, and allows for simultaneous operation of multiple devices, enhancing productivity and safety in cell culture processes.
Implementation Method 1
a gas supply unit that supplies humidified CO2 gas
Implementation Method 2
a temperature maintaining mechanism that maintains the culture vessel at a predetermined temperature
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A
AI summary
In order to provide an automatic culture device and an automatic culture system in which a device housing can be miniaturized and a plurality of devices can be simultaneously operated in a space-saving manner, the following configuration was adopted. An automatic culture system includes: an automatic culture device capable of accommodating a culture vessel; and a centralized management computer for controlling a plurality of automatic culture devices. The automatic culture device includes a temperature maintaining mechanism configured to maintain the culture vessel at a predetermined temperature, a gas supply unit configured to supply humidified CO2 gas, and a ventilation adapter attached to the culture vessel and configured to supply the humidified CO2 gas from the gas supply unit to the culture vessel.