Incubator for isolator

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9464265-B2
Application number	US-28153407-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 1, 2007
Priority date	Mar 6, 2006
Publication date	Oct 11, 2016
Grant date	Oct 11, 2016

Abstract

There is provided an incubator for an isolator, which is capable of reliably sterilizing a cultivation room of the incubator, a gas supply pipe and a sampling pipe. An incubator 1 for an isolator 40 includes a gas concentration control pipe 16 provided to communicate to a cultivation room 4 for control of concentration of cultivation gas in the cultivation room 4 , a sterile gas circulation pipe 26 for circulating sterile gas from the cultivation room 4 to the gas concentration control pipe 16 , and a circulation pump 24 provided in the sterile gas circulation pipe 26.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An incubator, to be connected to an isolator and a cultivation gas supply device, the incubator comprising:
a controller;
a cultivation room including a first port, a second port, and a third port, the cultivation room configured to be sterilized by a sterilizing gas supplied from a sterile gas supply device connected to the isolator;
a pipe sterilizing unit wherein the sterilizing gas flows from the second port into a second pipe, through the second pipe to a circulation pump, from the circulation pump into at least one path selected from among path (a) or path (b), wherein path (a) corresponds to a first pipe, through a valve C, to a first filter and then to the first port, wherein path (b) corresponds to a fourth pipe, through a valve B, to a third filter and then to the third port;
a first cultivation gas control unit comprising a first cultivation gas control pipe, the first cultivation gas control pipe including at one end thereof a first connector to connect to a first cultivation gas supply device, and the other end thereof being coupled to the first pipe, wherein the first pipe is between the first filter and the circulation pump, wherein the first cultivation gas control pipe includes a valve D;
a second cultivation gas control unit comprising a second cultivation gas control pipe, the second cultivation gas control pipe including at one end thereof a second connector to connect to a second cultivation gas supply device, and the other end thereof being coupled to the fourth pipe, wherein the fourth pipe is between the third filter and the circulation pump, wherein the second cultivation gas control pipe includes a valve E;
a fan disposed inside the cultivation room; and
a third pipe, having a cock A, connected to the second pipe at a point between the second port and the circulation pump,
wherein the incubator is configured to have:
a first combination of settings corresponding to the cock A being closed, the valve B being closed, the valve C being closed, and the circulation pump being off, wherein the valves D and E are opened and closed by the controller to cause a gas in the cultivation room to reach a preset concentration;
a second combination of settings corresponding to the cock A being open, the valve B being closed, the valve C being closed, and the circulation pump being off, wherein the valves D and E are opened and closed by the controller to cause a gas in the cultivation room to reach a preset concentration; or
a third combination of settings corresponding to the cock A being closed, the circulation pump being on, the fan being on, the valve D being closed, the valve E being closed, wherein the valves B and C are opened and closed by the controller at predetermined intervals such that the valve B is closed when the valve C is open and such that the valve B is open when the valve C is closed, wherein the valve B cannot be closed when the valve C is closed.

2. The incubator according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a second filter being included in the third pipe between the cock A and a connection of the third pipe to the second pipe.

3. The incubator according to claim 1 , wherein the fan circulates the sterilizing gas in the cultivation room, wherein the controller is connected to the circulation pump and to the fan, the controller operating in a sterilizing mode in which the controller operates both the circulation pump and the fan, wherein the sterilizing mode corresponds to the third combination of settings.

4. The incubator according to claim 1 , further comprising the isolator.

5. The incubator according to claim 1 , further comprising the sterile gas supply device.

6. An incubator, to be connected to an isolator and at least two cultivation gas supply devices, the incubator comprising:
a controller;
a cultivation room including a first port, a second port, and a third port, the cultivation room configured to be sterilized by a sterilizing gas supplied from a sterile gas supply device connected to the isolator;
a pipe sterilizing unit wherein the sterilizing gas flows from the second port into a second pipe, through the second pipe to a circulation pump, from the circulation pump into at least one path selected from among path (a) or path (b), wherein path (a) corresponds to a first pipe, through a valve C, to a first filter and then to the first port, wherein path (b) corresponds to a fourth pipe, through a valve B, to a third filter and then to the third port,
wherein the circulation pump forces the sterilizing gas to flow from the second port to the first port either through the first pipe and the first filter, or through the fourth pipe and the third filter, or through the first pipe and the first filter and also through the fourth pipe and the third filter;
a first cultivation gas control unit comprising a first cultivation gas control pipe, the first cultivation gas control pipe including at one end thereof a first connector to connect to a first cultivation gas supply device, and the other end thereof being coupled to the first pipe, wherein the first pipe is between the first filter and the circulation pump, wherein the first cultivation gas control pipe includes a valve D;
a second cultivation gas control unit comprising a second cultivation gas control pipe, the second cultivation gas control pipe including at one end thereof a second connector to connect to a second cultivation gas supply device, and the other end thereof being coupled to the fourth pipe, wherein the fourth pipe is between the third filter and the circulation pump, wherein the second cultivation gas control pipe includes a valve E;
a third pipe, having a cock A, connected to the second pipe between the second port and the circulation pump;
a fan disposed inside the cultivation room; and
a machine room disposed at an outer side of the cultivation room, wherein at least the circulation pump, first pipe, second pipe, and first filter are in the machine room;
wherein the incubator is configured to have:
a first combination of settings corresponding to the cock A being closed, the valve B being closed, the valve C being closed, and the circulation pump being off, wherein the valves D and E are opened and closed by the controller to cause a gas in the cultivation room to reach a preset concentration;
a second combination of settings corresponding to the cock A being open, the valve B being closed, the valve C being closed, and the circulation pump being off, wherein the valves D and E are opened and closed by the controller to cause a gas in the cultivation room to reach a preset concentration; or
a third combination of settings corresponding to the cock A being closed, the circulation pump being on, the fan being on, the valve D being closed, the valve E being closed, wherein the valves B and C are opened and closed by the controller at predetermined intervals such that the valve B is closed when the valve C is open and such that the valve B is open when the valve C is closed, wherein the valve B cannot be closed when the valve C is closed.

7. The incubator according to claim 6 , further comprising:
a second filter being included in the third pipe between the cock A and a connection of the third pipe to the second pipe.

8. The incubator according to claim 6 , wherein the fan circulates the sterilizing gas in the cultivation room, wherein the controller is connected to the circulation pump and to the fan, the controller operating in a sterilizing mode in which the controller operates both the circulation pump and the fan, wherein the sterilizing mode corresponds to the third combination of settings.

9. The incubator according to claim 6 , further comprising the isolator.

Assignees

• Osawa Shinji
• Miyoshi Tetsuya
• Panasonic Healthcare Holdings Co Ltd

Inventors

• Osawa Shinji
• Miyoshi Tetsuya

Classifications

• C12M41/14 Primary

  Incubators; Climatic chambers (per se B01L1/00) · CPC title

• C12M41/34

  of gas · CPC title

• C12M37/00

  Means for sterilizing, maintaining sterile conditions or avoiding chemical or biological contamination (C12M23/38 takes precedence; filtration in general and filters per se B01D24/00-B01D41/00; autoclaves B01J3/04; treatment of microorganisms with electrical or wave energy C12N13/00) · CPC title

• C12M1/38 Primary

  Temperature-responsive control · CPC title

• C12M1/00

  Apparatus for enzymology or microbiology · CPC title