JP-2026074760-A - Agitation device and stirring system

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a stirring device that can increase the amount of oxygen dissolved in the culture medium. [Solution] The device comprises a hollow external structure and an internal structure that extends horizontally within the external structure and partitions an annular channel containing culture medium and air between itself and the inner surface of the external structure. The annular channel has a reduced region which is a region on one side of a second horizontal direction perpendicular to the first direction of the internal structure, and an expanded region which is a region on the other side of the second direction of the internal structure and has a larger channel cross-sectional area than the reduced region. The device further includes a drive unit that applies an external force to the culture medium in the annular channel so that the culture medium flows from the expanded region over the top of the internal structure towards the reduced region. [Selection Diagram] Figure 3

Inventors

• 小松 由尚
• 遠藤 彰久
• 小川 尚樹
• 田邉 和男
• 浅野 伸
• 松澤 貴司
• 岡本 真一
• 日比野 雄平

Assignees

• 三菱重工業株式会社

Dates

Publication Date

20260507

Application Date

20241021

Claims (14)

1. The external structure is hollow, An internal structure is positioned within the external structure so as to extend in a first direction which is horizontal, thereby partitioning an annular channel for containing culture medium and air between itself and the inner circumferential surface of the external structure, Equipped with, The aforementioned annular channel is A reduced region is a region on one side of the second direction, which is a horizontal direction perpendicular to the first direction of the internal structure, An expanded region of the internal structure on the other side of the second direction, having a larger flow path cross-sectional area than the reduced region, It has, A stirring device further comprising a drive unit that applies an external force to the culture medium in the annular channel so that the culture medium moves from the expanding region over the top of the internal structure toward the shrinking region.
2. An air supply port for supplying air to the reduced area, An air discharge section that discharges air from a region above the internal structure in the annular flow path, The stirring device according to claim 1, further comprising:
3. A liquid supply port for supplying the culture medium to the reduced region, A liquid discharge hole for discharging the culture medium from the region above the enlarged region in the annular channel, The stirring device according to claim 1, further comprising:
4. The internal structure is a rotating body that can rotate about an eccentric axis extending in the first direction, The stirring device according to claim 1, wherein the drive unit includes an electric motor for rotating the rotating body.
5. The aforementioned electric motor is installed outside the external structure, The stirring device according to claim 4, wherein the internal structure and the electric motor are connected by a magnetic coupling, thereby transmitting the driving force of the electric motor to the internal structure.
6. The stirring device according to claim 4, wherein the rotating body is cylindrical in shape centered on the eccentric axis.
7. The stirring device according to claim 1, wherein the drive unit includes an air pump that supplies air from below to above the enlarged area.
8. The stirring device according to claim 4, wherein the drive unit includes an air pump that supplies air from below to above the enlarged area.
9. The stirring device according to claim 1, wherein the internal structure has a cylindrical outer surface centered on an eccentric axis extending in the first direction.
10. The stirring device according to claim 9, wherein the external structure has a cylindrical inner circumferential surface centered on a central axis extending in the first direction.
11. The stirring device according to claim 10, wherein the eccentric axis is arranged eccentrically to one side in the second direction with respect to the central axis.
12. The stirring device according to claim 11, wherein the eccentric axis is arranged eccentrically above the central axis.
13. The stirring device according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the liquid level of the culture medium during operation of the drive unit is higher in the expansion region than in the contraction region.
14. A plurality of stirring devices according to claim 1, A connecting pipe that connects the annular channels of multiple stirring devices, Equipped with, The connecting pipe is an agitation system that extends upward from each connection point to the annular flow path.

Description

This disclosure relates to stirring devices and stirring systems. Patent Document 1 discloses a stirring device in which a culture medium is filled into an annular channel between an outer cylinder and an inner cylinder, and gas is blown into the annular channel from below. According to this stirring device, the blowing of gas causes the culture medium to swirl within the annular channel, thereby promoting the stirring of the culture medium. Patent No. 4079877 This is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing an overview of a stirring device according to the first embodiment of this disclosure.This is a side view of a stirring device according to the first embodiment of the present disclosure.This is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the operating state of the stirring apparatus according to the first embodiment of this disclosure.This is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the operating state of a stirring device according to a modified example of the first embodiment of the present disclosure.This is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the operating state of the stirring apparatus according to the second embodiment of this disclosure.This is a side view of a stirring device according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure. <First Embodiment> <Agitator 1> The first embodiment of this disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to Figures 1 to 3. The stirring device 1 of the first embodiment is a device used for cell culture. The stirring device 1 comprises an external structure 10, an internal structure 40, and a drive unit 50. <External structures> The external structure 10 is a component that forms the outer shape of the stirring device 1 and has a hollow interior. The external structure 10 has a cylindrical body 20 and a pair of end plates 30. The cylindrical body 20 is a cylindrical member centered on a central axis O1 extending in the first horizontal direction D1 (the depth direction in Figures 1 and 3, and the left-right direction in Figure 2). The outer circumferential surface 21 of the cylindrical body 20 is a cylindrical surface centered on the central axis O1. The inner circumferential surface 22 of the cylindrical body 20 is a cylindrical surface centered on the central axis O1. The thickness of the cylindrical body 20 is constant in the circumferential direction of the central axis O1. The pair of end plates 30 (see Figure 2) are disc-shaped with respect to the central axis O1. These end plates 30 close both ends of the cylindrical body 20 in the first direction D1. This creates a space inside the cylindrical body 20. <Internal structure> The internal structure 40 of this embodiment is a rotating body 41 disposed inside the external structure 10. The rotating body 41 is cylindrical in shape, extending around an eccentric axis O2 that extends parallel to the central axis O1. The rotating body 41 is rotatable around the eccentric axis O2. The rotating body 41 extends in a first direction D1 within the external structure 10. Both end faces of the rotating body 41 in the first direction D1 are slidably in contact with a pair of end plates 30, or are facing each other with a clearance between them. The outer circumferential surface 21 of the rotating body 41 is a cylindrical outer circumferential surface 43 centered on the eccentric axis O2. The outer diameter of the cylindrical outer circumferential surface 43 is smaller than the inner diameter of the cylindrical inner circumferential surface 22 of the external structure 10. In this way, the rotating body 41, which serves as the internal structure 40, is arranged within the external structure 10. The cylindrical inner surface 22 of the external structure 10 and the cylindrical outer surface 43 of the internal structure 40 form an annular flow path inside the external structure 10. The culture medium C and air are contained within the annular flow path. The annular flow path is a flow path that forms an annular shape surrounding the central axis O1 and the eccentric axis O2. The annular flow path is a flow path through which the fluid flows in an annular manner along a virtual plane including the second direction D2 and the vertical direction D3. The rotating body 41 is positioned within the external structure 10, offset to one side of the second direction D2 (the right side in Figures 1 and 3). That is, the eccentric axis O2 is offset from the central axis O1 to one side of the second direction D2. Because the rotating body 41 is positioned biased towards one side in the second direction D2, the portion of the internal structure 40 in the annular flow path on that side in the second direction D2 has a reduced flow path cross-sectional area. This region where the flow path cross-sectional area is reduced is referred to as the reduced region R1 of the annular flow path. The reduced region R1 is the portion of the region within the vertical range D3 of the rotating body 41 in the annular flow path