JP4571535B2 - Rack equipment for breeding laboratory animals - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a rack apparatus for breeding laboratory animals, and more specifically, laboratory animal breeding in which small laboratory animals such as mice used for drug development or various medical experiments and verifications are placed. The present invention relates to a rack device that stores and raises cages.

  Conventionally, small experimental animals such as mice, rats, guinea pigs, and hamsters used in various medical experiments and verifications should be adequately controlled against bacterial infections or leakages from these experimental animals. As shown, it is raised in a well-equipped laboratory (laboratory animal breeding room).

  In a conventional laboratory animal breeding room, these laboratory animals are raised by a laboratory animal breeding device in order to protect the experimental animals from microorganisms such as bacteria or to prevent leakage of microorganisms such as bacteria from the laboratory animal breeding room. It was. As a conventional laboratory animal breeding apparatus, the idea disclosed in the registered utility model No. 2506467 (Patent Document 1) can be cited.

  The experimental animal breeding device disclosed in Patent Document 1 is composed of a rack installed in a laboratory animal breeding room and a plurality of breeding cages placed on the rack. The rack is configured by arranging a plurality of shelf boards extending in the horizontal direction (lateral direction) at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction (longitudinal direction), and supporting these shelf boards with support columns. An exhaust box with an exhaust chamber formed inside is attached to the back of the rack in close contact with the rack, and an air supply box with an air supply chamber formed inside is attached to the rack on both sides of the rack. It has been.

  The space between the shelves of the rack is a cage housing portion for placing the breeding cages, and the cage housing portions are formed at almost predetermined intervals in the lateral direction of the shelf plates. Rearing cages are arranged, and experimental animals are housed in these rearing cages. The back sides of these cage housings are closed by a casing plate of an exhaust box attached to the back side of the rack. The casing plate is formed with a discharge port substantially corresponding to the position of each breeding cage arranged in the cage housing portion, and each cage housing portion communicates with the exhaust chamber of the exhaust box through each discharge port. ing.

  Each shelf board is constituted by two partition walls arranged at an interval, and forms an air supply duct therein. The air supply duct communicates with an air supply chamber of an air supply box disposed at both ends of the rack. A number of air outlets corresponding to the breeding cages arranged in the cage housing portion are formed on the bottom surface (partition wall) of the upper shelf located at the top of one cage housing portion. The air supplied to the duct blows out from these air outlets toward the cage housing portion. The exhaust box and the air supply box are connected to an air conditioner and an exhaust device installed outside the experimental animal breeding room by an exhaust duct and an air intake duct, respectively.

Such a laboratory animal breeding room is ventilated by an indoor air-conditioned air outlet and a vent (exhaust) provided on the ceiling. That is, ventilation between the laboratory animal breeding room and each breeding cage is managed by a separate clean air supply system.
Registered Utility Model No. 2506467

  In the conventional laboratory animal breeding apparatus, each breeding cage is forcibly ventilated by a clean air supply system completely different from the ventilation of the laboratory animal breeding room. Therefore, confirmation of ventilation of each breeding cage could not be performed unless, for example, a ventilation amount measuring device was installed at the air supply port of each breeding cage to detect ventilation. In the conventional laboratory animal breeding device, the air supply to the breeding cage is performed by the air feed device for each rack or each laboratory animal breeding room. It was important to check the ventilation of each breeding cage because ventilation in the cage was stopped and a serious accident occurred in the breeding of experimental animals. However, installing ventilation measuring devices at the air intakes of many breeding cages and managing the presence or absence of ventilation requires a great deal of labor and expense, which increases the cost of breeding laboratory animals. It was.

  Further, in the conventional laboratory animal breeding apparatus, it is difficult to take out the breeding cage from the rack and transport it to another place, and the laboratory animal is transferred to a special cage and transported. The reason for this is that if the connection between the air supply port and the air outlet of the air supply duct is disconnected in order to remove the animal cage from the rack, the ventilation in the animal cage is stopped and the environment in the animal cage 28 is deteriorated. Because it becomes. Therefore, it has been desired that ventilation in the breeding cage can be continued even when the breeding cage is removed from the rack.

  Furthermore, in the conventional laboratory animal breeding apparatus, the air supply duct is formed in the shelf so as to supply clean air directly to the individual breeding cages arranged on the shelf, so that the rack structure is complicated. In addition, since the number of shelves constituting the rack is determined by the height from the floor surface to the ceiling surface of the experimental animal breeding room to be installed, a thick shelf board in which an air supply duct is formed is used. In this rack, since it is difficult to increase the number of shelves, there is also a problem that the arrangement density of the breeding cages cannot be increased.

  In order to solve such problems of the conventional laboratory animal breeding apparatus, a new type experimental animal breeding apparatus for constructing a barrier for invasion or leakage of bacteria for each breeding cage has been proposed. In the proposed new experimental animal breeding apparatus, an air supply unit including a fan device and a HEPA filter is detachably mounted on the upper part of the breeding cage housed in each cage housing portion of the rack. By this, clean air in the breeding room was supplied to each breeding cage. Specifically, an air supply opening with a filter is formed in the cover that removably closes the upper opening of the breeding cage, and the air supply unit is placed on the cover so that the bottom of the air supply unit is in close contact with the cover. Clean air was supplied from the vent formed on the bottom of the unit into the breeding cage through the air supply port of the cover.

  However, with the proposed new experimental animal breeding device, the air supply unit must be removed from the cover of the breeding cage each time the breeding cage is taken in and out of the rack cage, and it must be accurately mounted in place. The operation was extremely troublesome, and it was expected that it would be extremely troublesome to put the cage in and out of the rack unless an effective detaching means between the cage and the air supply unit was devised.

  An object of the present invention is to solve such a conventional problem, and provides a rack apparatus for breeding laboratory animals configured to construct a barrier for invasion or leakage of bacteria for each breeding cage. There is.

  That is, the present invention relates to a laboratory animal breeding rack apparatus configured to construct a barrier against invasion or leakage of bacteria for each breeding cage. It is an object of the present invention to provide a rack device that supports an air supply unit to be placed on the top and bottom so that it can be automatically moved up and down to facilitate the operation of inserting and removing the cage from the cage housing portion.

  The premise of the present invention for solving the above problems is that the upper cage is covered with a detachable cover and sealed, and the cage is detachably installed on the cover of the cage and formed on the cover. A rack device for breeding laboratory animals that stores and manages at least one breeding cage device including an air supply unit that supplies clean air from the vents into the breeding cage.

  The feature of the rack device for breeding laboratory animals based on this premise comprises at least one cage housing portion that accommodates the breeding cage so as to be able to enter and exit, and an air supply unit mounting means provided above the cage housing portion, The breeding cage can enter the cage housing portion from the front to the rear of the rack device and can be taken out from the cage housing portion in the opposite direction, and the air supply unit attachment means includes the air supply unit. A holder for detachably holding the unit, and allowing the holder to reciprocate between an initial position set on the front side of the rack device and a set position set on the rear side, and the holder is in the set position A moving support mechanism that moves in a direction toward the bottom surface of the cage housing as it approaches the cage, and the breeding cage is housed in the cage And a linkage member that moves the holder from the initial position to the set position in conjunction with the entry of the breeding cage, and when the breeding cage enters the cage housing portion from the front of the rack device. The interlocking member and the movement support mechanism move the holder together with the breeding cage to the rear while moving in the direction toward the bottom surface of the cage housing and holding the holder. The care unit is brought into close contact with the cover of the breeding cage at the set position.

  As another example of the embodiment of the rack apparatus for breeding laboratory animals according to the present invention, the moving support mechanism unit applies a restoring force in a direction to return the holder from the set position to the initial position. An urging means is provided, and the return force urging means is to make the return force non-biased with respect to the holder when the holder is in the set position.

  As another example of the embodiment of the rack apparatus for breeding laboratory animals according to the present invention, the air supply unit attaching means is disposed on both sides of the cage housing portion of the breeding cage and extends in the front-rear direction. The movable support mechanism portion includes guide slots formed in the respective support plates and extending in the front-rear direction, and the holder has protrusions provided on both sides thereof in the guide slots. It is slidably fitted and supported so as to be movable.

  As another example of the embodiment of the rack device for breeding laboratory animals according to the present invention, the guide slot is inclined backward from the front toward the bottom surface of the cage housing portion. is there.

  As another example of the embodiment of the rack apparatus for breeding laboratory animals according to the present invention, the return force urging means of the moving support mechanism is composed of a torsion coil spring attached to the support plate, and the torsion One spring end of the coil spring is engaged with the protrusion protruding from the slot of the support plate, and the other spring end is locked to the support plate and is engaged with the protrusion. The projecting portion has a combined force of a horizontal component force that biases the holder toward the initial position and a vertical component force that biases the holder in a substantially vertical direction toward the bottom surface of the cage housing portion. And the combined force of the torsion coil spring urged to the protrusion by the one spring end of the torsion coil spring when the holder moves from the initial position to the set position. Among them, the horizontal component force is larger than the vertical component force, and when the holder comes to the set position, the vertical component force is attached to the support plate at a position larger than the horizontal component force. It is.

  As another example of the embodiment of the rack apparatus for breeding laboratory animals according to the present invention, the air supply unit attachment means includes a rod contact portion attached to the rear of the holder, and the holder A power supply terminal attached to one end, and when the air supply unit is held by the holder, the power supply terminal is inserted into a socket provided at a rear end of the air supply unit. When the holder holding the air unit moves to the set position in conjunction with the entry of the rearing cage into the cage housing portion, a rod of the power switch device protruding from the rear end of the air supply unit It is pressed in contact with the rod contact portion, and is operated by supplying power to the air supply fan device provided in the air supply unit.

  As another example of the embodiment of the rack apparatus for breeding laboratory animals according to the present invention, the rack apparatus can withstand heat of at least 121 degrees so that the entire rack apparatus can be sterilized by heat. It is made of a material to be obtained.

  According to the rack apparatus for breeding experimental animals of the present invention, air is taken in and cleaned from the outside of the breeding cage by the air supply unit arranged on the cover of the breeding cage, so that the rack of the breeding rack as in the conventional apparatus. It is not necessary to form an air supply duct on the board, and as a result, a thin shelf board can be used, so that the number of shelf boards can be increased and the accommodation density of the breeding cage can be increased.

  Further, according to the rack apparatus for breeding laboratory animals of the present invention, the air supply unit supported on the upper part of the cage housing part moves up and down with respect to the cover of the breeding cage simply by taking the breeding cage into and out of the cage housing part. Therefore, not only is the operation of moving the cage out of the rack device very easy, but also when the cage is placed in the cage housing portion of the rack device, the air supply unit is set in close contact with the cover of the cage. Since this is not forgotten, the housing of the breeding cage in the rack device can be carried out extremely safely and reliably.

  The details of the laboratory animal breeding apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view of a laboratory animal breeding rack apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention as seen from the front side, and FIG. 2 is a schematic explanatory view showing a laboratory animal breeding room 100. .

  A rack apparatus 10 for breeding laboratory animals shown in FIG. 1 is formed by connecting and integrating a vertical column 13 at each corner portion of a pair of upper and lower frame members 11 and 12 that are assembled in a substantially square shape. 12, a bottom plate (lower shelf plate) 14a extending in the lateral direction is arranged, and an upper shelf plate 14b is installed at a substantially middle portion in the height direction of the upper and lower frame members 11 and 12. The rack apparatus 10 has six compartment and support rods 15 standing between upper and lower frame members 11 and 12 at equal intervals in the horizontal direction, and defines seven cage housing portions 16 in the horizontal direction in the upper and lower sides, respectively. .

  The cages 101 extend from the front to the rear so that the rearing cage 101 can be accurately entered from the front of the rack device 10 toward the rear on the shelf plate of the cage storage 16 at both sides in each cage storage 16. An L-shaped guide rail plate 17 is attached to each shelf plate 14a, 14b. In addition, an air supply unit attachment means 18 is installed on the upper portion of each cage housing portion 16. In FIG. 1 which shows the schematic structure of the rack apparatus 10, only the holder 19 which comprises the air supply unit attachment means 18 is shown. In FIG. 1, a state in which the breeding cage 101 and the air supply unit 102 are disposed in the cage housing portion 16 on the upper left side in the rack apparatus 10 is indicated by a virtual line. Experimental animals are housed and raised in these breeding cages 101.

  In the laboratory animal breeding room 100 shown in FIG. 2, a total of four rack devices 10 shown in FIG. 1 are installed along the pair of walls facing each other, and a total of four rack devices 10 are kept in the room. Usually, breeding work is performed in the laboratory animal breeding room 100. On the ceiling of the experimental animal breeding room 100, an air outlet 103 for air conditioning is provided. From the indoor air outlet 103, clean air whose temperature and humidity are adjusted and removed by an air conditioner 104 installed outside the room is supplied.

  In the laboratory animal breeding room 100, an exhaust box 105 having an exhaust chamber 105a formed therein is attached in close contact with the back side of each rack apparatus 10. Accordingly, the casing plate of the exhaust box 105 closes the rear side (back side) of each cage housing portion 16. The rear plate of the rack apparatus 10 formed of the casing plate is formed with a discharge port 106 substantially corresponding to the position of the breeding cage 101 arranged in each cage housing portion 16. It communicates with the exhaust chamber 105a of the exhaust box 105 through each exhaust port 106. The exhaust box 105 is connected to an exhaust fan 108 installed outside by an exhaust duct 107, and the air exhausted into the exhaust chamber 105 a of the exhaust box 105 is exhausted outside the experimental animal breeding room 100 by the exhaust fan 108. The

  FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of the rack apparatus 10 in which the breeding cage 101 and the air supply unit 102 are arranged in one cage housing portion 16. As is apparent from FIG. 3, the breeding cage 101 is composed of a cage main body 110 having an open top and a cover 111 that is detachably provided so as to close the upper surface of the cage main body 110. The cage body 110 is made of a synthetic resin material and other materials suitable for breeding laboratory animals, and the cover 111 is also made of a synthetic resin material and other materials suitable for breeding laboratory animals, such as aluminum and stainless steel. It is also preferable to form the metal material. The cover 111 is formed with an air inlet 112 for taking in air into an upper surface portion located on the front side (left side in FIG. 3) of the rack device 10, and an exhaust port for discharging air into the upper surface portion located on the rear side. 113 is formed. The air supply port 112 and the exhaust port 113 are covered with filters 114a and 114b, respectively. As the filters 114a and 114b, it is preferable to use a filter having a high filtering ability, such as a HEPA filter or a medium performance filter.

  On the cover 111 of the breeding cage 101, an air supply unit 102 supported by the air supply unit attachment means 18 is installed. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the air supply unit 102 includes a thin sealed box (casing) 120, and a fan device 121 is installed inside the front side thereof. The fan device 121 includes a disk-shaped sirocco fan 122 and a motor (not shown). An air inlet 123 for sucking air outside the casing toward the rotational center of the fan 122 is formed above the sirocco fan 122, and the air inlet 123 is covered with a prefilter 124.

  On the side surface of the fan device 121 along the rotation direction of the fan 122, a blowout portion 125 is formed that sends out the air sucked into the fan device 121 in the centrifugal direction of the fan 122. The blowout part 125 is formed so that the air blown from here goes to the sealed chamber 126 in the casing 120. An opening 127 is formed in the bottom wall of the casing 120 that defines the hermetic chamber 126, and a filter 128 having a high filtering ability, such as a HEPA filter, is also disposed over the opening 127. Yes. A packing 129 is annularly arranged on the outer surface of the bottom wall of the casing 120 so as to surround the opening 127. In the packing 129, when the air supply unit 102 is disposed on the upper surface of the cover 111 of the breeding cage 101, the air supply port 112 in which the opening 127 formed in the bottom wall of the casing 120 is formed on the upper surface of the cover 111. And is in close contact with the peripheral portion of the air supply port 112 on the upper surface of the cover 111. As is clear from this, the air supply port 112 formed in the cover 111 of the breeding cage 101 is formed in a range smaller than the formation range of the opening 127 formed in the bottom wall of the casing 120.

  As shown in FIG. 5, a power connection socket 130 and a power switch device 131 for turning on / off the power connection to the fan device 121 are provided at the rear end of the air supply unit 102. The power switch device 131 is a push rod type. When a rod 131a protruding rearward from a switch body (not shown) of the power switch device 131 is pushed, driving power is supplied to the fan device 121, and when the pushing force is released. The rod 131a protrudes by the spring force inside the switch body, and the power supply to the fan device 121 is cut off.

  Next, the air supply unit attachment means 18 that supports the air supply unit 102 at the upper part of the cage housing portion 16 will be described. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the air supply unit attachment means 18 installed on the upper part of the cage housing portion 16 by removing it from the frame member 11 of the rack apparatus 10. The air supply unit attachment means 18 includes a pair of U-shaped holders 19, which extend in parallel with a gap so that the groove portions 19 a face each other and in the front-rear direction of the rack device 10. Yes. The air supply unit 101 is inserted from the front side to the rear side of the rack device 10 so as to be positioned between the holders 19 while both sides thereof are fitted in the groove-like portions 19 a of the holders 19. Removably held.

  At the rear side of both holders 19, the end portions of the L-shaped coupling plate 20 are fixed to the lower surface of the lower flange 19 b forming the groove-shaped portion 19 a of each holder 19, and both holders 19 are connected. Yes. One end of an interlocking member 21 made of a plate-like body is fixed to the substantially central portion of the coupling plate 20, and the other end extends backward and then is bent downward. This bent portion is referred to as a locking portion 21a of the interlocking member 21 for convenience. The coupling plate 20 includes a power supply terminal 22, and when the air supply unit 102 is held by both holders 19, the power supply terminal 22 is attached to a socket 130 provided at the rear end of the air supply unit 102. It is designed to be plugged in.

  A through hole 19c for inserting a set screw is formed at the front end of both holders 19. The through holes 19c are screw holes 132 formed on both side surfaces on the front side of the air supply unit 102 when the air supply unit 102 is held at a predetermined position by the two holders 19 (see FIGS. 4 and 5). And a set screw (not shown) is inserted from the outside of the holder 19 and screwed into the screw hole 132 of the air supply unit 102 to achieve a strong connection with the holder 19. I try not to accidentally escape.

  The air supply unit attachment means 18 includes a pair of support plates 23 a and 23 b that extend in the front-rear direction along the holder 19. These support plates 23a and 23b are opposed to each other to define a U-shaped portion of a U-shaped plate 23 attached to a fixed portion such as a frame member constituting the rack apparatus 10 as shown in FIG. It is comprised by the flange part which bent the inner side which did it downward. The two holders 19 are attached to these support plates 23a and 23b. Each holder 19 attached to each support plate 23a, 23b can reciprocate between the initial position set on the front side and the rear side of the rack device 10 and the set position by the moving support mechanism 24. Has been. That is, the moving support mechanism 24 is formed at two positions on the front and rear sides of the support plates 23a and 23b. The movement support mechanism 24 is provided on the guide slots 25 extending in the front-rear direction and on both sides of each holder 19, and slides into the guide slots 25. It is comprised by the projection part 26 fitted so that a movement is possible.

  Each guide slot 25 is inclined toward the bottom surface of the cage housing portion 16 as it extends from the front to the rear. The initial position of the holder 19 refers to the state when the protrusion 26 is positioned at the front end of the guide slot 25 (see FIG. 7). The set position of the holder 19 refers to the position where the protrusion 26 is the guide slot. The state (refer FIG. 8) when located in the back side edge part of 25 is said. In the U-shaped plate 23 forming the pair of support plates 23 a and 23 b, a rod contact portion 27 is attached to the lower surface located behind the holder 19. The contact surface 27a of the rod contact portion 27 is formed on the power switch device 131 protruding from the rear end portion of the air supply unit 102 when the holder 19 holding the air supply unit 102 is moved from the initial position to the set position. The rod 131a is in a position where it can contact and be pushed in.

  Further, the movement support mechanism unit 24 includes return force urging means 28. The return force urging means 28 is composed of a torsion coil spring 29 attached to one support plate 23b, and one spring end 29a of the torsion coil spring 29 protrudes from one guide slot 25 of the support plate 23b. The other spring end 29b extends rearward and is locked to the support plate 23b. In the rack apparatus 10, the position where the torsion coil spring 29 is attached to the support plate 23b is extremely important. Therefore, the attachment position of the torsion coil spring 29 to the support plate 23b will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 7 shows the state of the return force urging means 28 when the holder 19 is in the initial position, in other words, the state of engagement between one spring end 29a of the torsion coil spring 29 and the projection 26, and FIG. The engagement state between one spring end 29a of the torsion coil spring 29 and the protrusion 26 when the holder 19 is at the set position is shown. The torsion coil spring 29 has a horizontal component force (vector indicated by an arrow 30a in FIG. 8) in which one spring end 29a engaged with the protruding portion 26 urges the holder 19 in the direction of the initial position, and a cage housing. A combined force (vector indicated by an arrow 30 in FIG. 8) and a vertical component force (a vector indicated by an arrow 30b in FIG. 8) urging in a substantially vertical direction toward the bottom surface of the portion 16 is applied to the protrusion 26. Yes.

  The torsion coil spring 29 that applies the urging force as described above to the protrusion 26 slidably fitted in the guide slot 25 is attached to the protrusion 26 by one spring end 29a when the holder 19 is in the initial position. Of the resultant force 30 to be biased, the horizontal component force 30a is greater than the vertical component force 30b (the state shown in FIG. 7), and when the holder 19 is in the set position, the vertical component force 30b is greater than the horizontal component force 30a. The coil portion 29c, which is the central portion of the torsion coil spring 29, is supported by the support plate 23b at such a position (the state shown in FIG. 8).

  Such a mounting position of the torsion coil spring 29 is such that, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the coil portion 29c, which is the center portion of the torsion coil spring 29, is substantially supported in the vicinity of the upper portion of the front end portion in the guide slot 25. It is preferable to attach to. However, in the setting position of the holder 19, the magnitude of the vertical component of the combined force that the one spring end 29 a of the torsion coil spring 29 urges against the projection 26 depends on the length of the guide slot 25 and the inclination angle. Since it is different, it is necessary to design in consideration of these dimensional conditions.

  Next, a procedure for arranging the breeding cage 101 and the air supply unit 102 in one cage housing portion 16 in the rack apparatus 10 will be described. First, when the air supply unit 102 is attached to the holder 19 as described above, the air supply unit 102 is supplied with power by inserting the power supply terminal 22 into the socket 130 at the rear end. However, the rod 131a of the power switch device 131 protruding from the rear end portion of the power supply unit 102 is on the contact surface 27a of the rod contact plate 27 attached to the plate 23 because the holder 19 is in the initial position. Since it is not in contact, the fan device 121 in the air supply unit 102 is not operating.

  From this state, the breeding cage 101 is inserted between the two guide rails 17 on the shelf plates 14a and 14b from the front side of the rack device 10, and pushed into the rear side to enter the cage housing portion 16. At that time, as shown in FIG. 7, the rear end portion of the cover 111 in the breeding cage 101 comes into contact with the locking portion 21 a of the interlocking member 21 attached to the coupling plate 20. When the breeding cage 101 is still pushed into the cage housing portion 16, the breeding cage 101 pulls the holder 19 backward via the interlocking member 21 and the coupling plate 20. Since the returning force to the initial position is acting on the holder 19 by the returning force urging means 28, the holder 19 is moved toward the rear set position against the returning force.

  When the holder 19 moves toward the rear set position, since the guide slot 25 that guides the movement is inclined downward in the rear direction, the holder 19 also moves downward while moving downward. When the holder 19 comes to the set position, the packing 129 attached to the lower surface of the air supply unit 102 is in close contact with a predetermined position on the cover 111 of the breeding cage 101. At that time, as shown in FIG. 8, one spring end 29 a of the torsion coil spring 29 constituting the restoring force urging means 28 is applied to the protrusion 26 protruding from the guide slot 25 by the horizontal component force 30 a. Since the spring force is applied in the direction in which the vertical component force 30b increases, when the holder 19 comes to the set position, the return force in the forward direction by the torsion coil spring 29 hardly acts, but rather in the downward direction. Since the pressing force is increased, the holder 19 is kept stationary while the air supply unit 102 is pressed against the upper surface of the cover 111 of the breeding cage 101 at the set position.

  When the air supply unit 102 comes to the set position by being pushed by the breeding cage 101 in this way, it protrudes from the rear end portion of the air supply unit 102 to the contact surface 27a of the rod contact portion 27 attached to the plate 23. The rod 131a of the power switch device 131 is in contact and pushed in, and the power is turned on. As a result, electric power is supplied to the fan device 121 and the sirocco fan 122 starts rotating, and clean air in the laboratory animal breeding room 100 enters the air supply unit 102 through the prefilter 124 of the air inlet 123 and further opens. The air passes through the HEPA filter 128 of 127 and the filter 114 a of the air inlet 112 formed in the cover 111 of the breeding cage 101. The air in the breeding cage 101 passes through the filter 115 of the exhaust port 113 and exits to the cage housing portion 16, and is sucked into the exhaust chamber 105a from the exhaust port 106 formed in the exhaust box 105 located at the rear. The air is exhausted outside the animal breeding room 100.

  Next, an operation when the breeding cage 101 is pulled out from the cage housing portion 16 for observing the state of the experimental animal housed in the breeding cage 101 or performing some kind of treatment will be described. When the holder 19 is in the set position, since the packing 129 attached to the lower surface of the air supply unit 102 is in close contact with the cover 111 of the breeding cage 101 as described above, the breeding cage 101 is pulled out from the cage housing portion 16. Then, the air supply unit 102 is slightly moved forward by the frictional force between the packing 129 on the bottom surface and the cover 111 of the breeding cage 101. As a result, the holder 19 holding the air supply unit 102 moves upward and moves upward, so that the packing 129 of the air supply unit 102 moves away from the cover 111 of the breeding cage 101 and at the same time the return force urging means 28 Of the urging force that one spring end 29 a of the torsion coil spring 29 is acting on the protrusion 26, the horizontal component force 30 a is larger than the vertical component force 30 b, so that the holder 19 is initialized by the return force received by the torsion coil spring 29. Return to position.

  In the middle of returning the holder 19 to the initial position, the rod 131a of the power switch device 131 protruding from the rear end of the air supply unit 102 is separated from the contact surface 27a of the rod contact 27. The pressing spring is released by the return spring in the switch body, the power switch device 131 cuts off the power supply, and the fan device 121 stops.

  As is apparent from such operations, according to the rack device 10, if the air supply unit 102 is attached to the holder 19 constituting the air supply unit attachment means 18, the breeding cage 101 is attached to the cage housing portion 16. The air supply unit 102 is automatically lowered and placed in pressure contact with the cover 111 of the breeding cage 101, and the fan device 121 is activated or automatically lifted from the cover 111. Thus, the breeding cage 101 can be easily removed from the cage accommodating portion 16 and the fan device 121 can be automatically stopped, so that the installation and removal operation of the breeding cage 101 to the cage accommodating portion 16 is very easy. it can.

  Moreover, in this rack apparatus 10 for breeding experimental animals, air is taken in from the outside of the breeding cage 101 and cleaned by the air supply unit 102 disposed on the cover 111 of the breeding cage 101, so that it is like a conventional apparatus. There is no need to form an air supply duct on the shelf of the breeding rack, and as a result, thin shelves can be used, so that the number of shelves can be increased and the accommodation density of the breeding cage can be increased. .

  In the embodiment according to the present invention described above, the inclined guide slot 25 is formed in the support plates 23a and 23b as the moving support mechanism portion 24 that moves up and down while moving the holder 19 back and forth, but the present invention is such a guide slot. It is not limited to 25. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, two links in which the support plates 23a and 23b (FIG. 9 shows only one support plate 23b as in FIGS. 7 and 8) and the holder 19 are arranged in the front and rear, respectively. You may connect by 31. That is, one end of each link 31 is pivotally attached to the support plates 23a and 23b, and the other end is pivotally attached to the holder 19, and the holder 19 is suspended from the support plates 23a and 23b so as to be swingable like a pendulum. . In such a configuration, the return force urging means 28 may be constituted by a protrusion 26 attached to the outer surface of the holder 19 in the substantially front-rear direction and a torsion coil spring 29 attached to the support plate 23b. it can.

  One spring end 29a of the torsion coil spring 29 is engaged with the rear peripheral surface of the protrusion 26, and the other spring end 29b extends rearward and is locked to the support plate 23b. Since the mounting position of the torsion coil spring 29 to the support plate 23b is the same as that in the above-described embodiment, detailed description thereof is omitted. In addition, when the holder 19 moves back and forth, it is preferable to cut away the peripheral portion thereof as indicated by reference numeral 32 so that the protruding portion 26 does not come into contact with the support plate 23b.

  If the holder 19 is supported so as to be suspended by the link 31, the holder 19 moves up and down when reciprocating between the initial position and the set position. A similar movement can be made. In the rack apparatus 10 for breeding laboratory animals according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the stopping means when the holder 19 moves backward while descending, that is, the stopper, is a guide formed on the support plates 23a and 23b. It was the rear end of the slot 25 (the protrusion 19 abuts on this end so that the holder 19 stops and becomes the set position).

  However, when the holder 19 and the support plates 23 a and 23 b are connected by the link 31, the packing 129 provided on the lower surface of the air supply unit 102 held by the holder 31 is pressed against the upper surface of the cover 111 of the breeding cage 101. As a result, the breeding cage 101 is pressed against the shelf plates 14a and 14b, so that the breeding cage 101 cannot physically move beyond the set position in the backward direction. However, determining the set position by such a method may exert an excessive compressive force on the packing 129, so that the holder 19 suspended so as to be swingable by the link 31 moves backward while being lowered. It is preferable to attach the protrusion 33 to at least one of the support plates 23a and 23b at a position where it abuts on the side edge on the rear side of the link 31 so as to stop at the designed set position.

  Each embodiment mentioned above gave the optimal example in this invention, and this invention is not limited to these embodiment. The present invention includes various modifications without departing from the scope of the invention.

The front view which shows roughly the rack apparatus for laboratory animal breeding which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. The structure explanatory view showing roughly the laboratory animal breeding room where the rack device of the present invention is installed. The fragmentary sectional view of the rack apparatus by which the air supply unit and the breeding cage are arrange | positioned in one cage accommodating part. The perspective view which looked at the air supply unit from the front side. The perspective view which looked at the air supply unit from the back side. The perspective view which removes from the frame member of a rack apparatus, and shows the air supply unit attachment means installed in the upper part of a cage accommodating part. The side view which looked at the air supply unit attachment means of FIG. 6 from the side. The side view similar to FIG. 7 which shows an air supply unit attachment means when a holder moves from an initial position to a set position. The side view similar to FIG. 7 which shows the air supply unit attachment means in the rack apparatus for laboratory animal breeding which concerns on other embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Rack apparatus 14a, 14b Shelf board 16 Cage accommodating part 18 Air supply unit attachment means 19 Holder 21 Interlocking member 22 Power supply terminal 23a, 23b Support plate 24 Movement support mechanism part 25 Guide slot 26 Protrusion part 27 Rod contact part 28 Return Force biasing means 29 Torsion coil spring 31 Link 101 Breeding cage 102 Air supply unit 111 Cover

Claims (7)

A breeding cage sealed by covering the upper opening with a detachable cover, and detachably installed on the cover of the breeding cage, and clean air from the vents formed in the cover into the breeding cage In a rack device for breeding laboratory animals that stores and manages at least one breeding cage device comprising an air supply unit to be supplied,
It comprises at least one cage housing part that accommodates the breeding cage so as to be able to go in and out, and an air supply unit attaching means provided above the cage housing part, and the breeding cage is directed from the front to the rear of the rack device. It is possible to enter the cage housing portion and take out from the cage housing portion in the opposite direction.
The air supply unit mounting means reciprocates between a holder for detachably holding the air supply unit, and an initial position set on the front side and a set position set on the rear side of the rack device. A movable support mechanism that is movable and moves in a direction toward the bottom surface of the cage housing as the holder approaches the set position; and when the breeding cage enters the cage housing, the breeding cage enters. And an interlocking member that moves the holder from the initial position to the set position in conjunction with
When the breeding cage is advanced from the front of the rack device into the cage housing portion, the interlocking member and the moving support mechanism portion move the holder together with the breeding cage to the rear, while the cage housing portion The rack apparatus for breeding laboratory animals, wherein the rack apparatus moves in a direction toward the bottom surface and closely contacts the air supply unit held by the holder on the cover of the breeding cage at the set position.   The moving support mechanism includes a return force urging means for applying a return force in a direction to return the holder from the set position to the initial position, and the return force urging means has the holder at the set position. The rack apparatus for breeding laboratory animals according to claim 1, wherein the return force is in a non-biased state with respect to the holder. The air supply unit mounting means is disposed on both sides of the cage housing portion of the breeding cage, and includes a pair of support plates extending in the front-rear direction,
The moving support mechanism includes guide slots formed on the support plates and extending in the front-rear direction, and the holder is slidably fitted into the guide slots with protrusions provided on both sides thereof. The rack apparatus for breeding laboratory animals according to claim 2, wherein the rack apparatus is supported so as to be movable.   The rack apparatus for breeding laboratory animals according to claim 3, wherein the guide slot is inclined backward from the front toward the bottom surface of the cage accommodating portion. The return force urging means of the moving support mechanism is composed of a torsion coil spring attached to the support plate, and one spring end of the torsion coil spring is formed on the protrusion protruding from the guide slot of the support plate. The other spring end is engaged with the support plate, and the one spring end engaged with the protrusion is a horizontal component force that urges the holder toward the initial position. Applying a combined force with a vertical component force urging in a substantially vertical direction toward the bottom surface of the cage housing portion to the protrusion,
When the holder moves between the initial position and the set position, the torsion coil spring is a component of the horizontal direction of the combined force that is urged against the protrusion by the one spring end of the torsion coil spring. 5. The support plate according to claim 4, wherein when the force is greater than the vertical component force and the holder is in the set position, the vertical component force is attached to the support plate at a position where the force is greater than the horizontal component force. Rack equipment for breeding laboratory animals.   The air supply unit attaching means includes a rod abutting portion attached to the rear of the holder, the holder includes a power supply terminal attached to a rear end thereof, and the air supply unit is held by the holder. When the power supply terminal is inserted into a socket provided at a rear end of the air supply unit, the holder holding the air supply unit is connected to the cage housing portion of the breeding cage. When moved to the set position in conjunction with the approach, the rod of the power switch device protruding from the rear end portion of the air supply unit is pushed into contact with the rod contact portion and is provided in the air supply unit. The rack apparatus for breeding laboratory animals according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the rack apparatus is operated by supplying power to the air supply fan apparatus. The laboratory animal according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the rack device is formed of a material that can withstand heat of at least 121 degrees so that the entire rack device can be sterilized by heat. Rack equipment for breeding.

Images