JP2790243B2 - Culture device - Google Patents

Description

Description: FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention is suitable for use as a cultivation apparatus, particularly a cultivation apparatus for bulbs, and has a cultivation device internally provided with a selection device for selecting bulbs that have grown to a certain size or more. Related to the device.

Conventional technology Culture devices include those using a solid medium such as agar, and those using a liquid medium.Taking bulbs as an example, a liquid medium is generally used for these cultures. It is usually agitated to promote growth and ensure uniform growth. After a certain period of time or through a viewing window or the like, the condition of growth was observed, and at the stage where growth had progressed to some extent, the bulbs were discharged and taken out together with the medium.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention As a stirring method in this type of apparatus, there are a method of rotating or rocking a container, a method of aeration stirring by blowing air, a method of stirring with a stirring blade, and the like. It is not possible to uniformly grow plants such as varieties, and it is unavoidable that a difference occurs in the growth degree and that the size varies. In the past, those with variations in size were discharged together with the culture medium, sorted outside to remove those with a certain size or more, and those with a small size were discarded or returned to the culture device for cultivation again. However, it is uneconomical to discard those that have grown to some extent, and it is troublesome to return to the culture device and grow again.

The present invention seeks to solve the above-described problem by sorting grown plants by size internally and leaving those having a certain size or less in a culture device, while discharging those having a certain size or more to the outside. is there.

The culture device of the present invention is therefore filled with a liquid medium,
While the plant material of the culture material floats or sediments in the medium, a container that rotates or swings around one fixed axis,
A scraping means for scraping the plants grown in the medium, the plants scraped by the means are sorted by size, and the small-sized plants are returned to the medium, while the large-sized plants are placed outside the container. And a sorting means for discharging.

The liquid medium in which the plant material of the culture material is suspended is stirred by rotation or rocking of the container, thereby promoting growth and homogenization, but instead of rotating or rocking the container, a scraping means is used. The stirring may be performed by rotating or rocking the inside of the container, or the scraping means may be attached to the container and rotated or rocked together with the container.
By easily attaching the scraping means, a device for driving the scraping means can be omitted, and the structure can be simplified.

The sorting means has a function of transporting the plant received from the scraping means. In order to transport the plant, for example, a tapered transport path, a mechanism for moving the plant by gravity, a spiral feeding mechanism with a spiral blade attached to the drive shaft, and the like are used. For example, a mesh or a slit for selecting a plant is provided in a part or the whole thereof. In the former mechanism in which the plant slides by gravity, it is desirable to vibrate the mechanism to promote selection.

The scraping means scrapes the plant and supplies it to the sorting means.
The supplied plants are sorted by size while being transported by the sorting means, and the small-sized plants are returned to the medium. On the other hand, large-sized plants are discharged outside.

Embodiment Inside a cylindrical container 1, a container 3 having an outer peripheral surface of a mesh 2 is arranged concentrically and is rotatably supported by a boss 4 of the container 1. And a motor 5 attached to the container 1
It is designed to be rotationally driven through a transmission mechanism by the chain 6.

The boss 4 is also supported by a support 9 with a sorting device indicated generally by reference numeral 8. The sorting device 8 includes a screw 13 having a helical blade 12 wound around a drive shaft 11, a mesh 14 surrounding a lower half of the screw 13, a cover 16 surrounding an upper half excluding an inlet 15, and a discharge valve 17. And a discharge pipe 18 connected to the outlet portion of the mesh 14 through the boss 4 on the outlet side.
The container 3 is connected to the container 3 by a gear transmission mechanism 19, and is rotated at a lower speed than the container 3 by the rotation of the container 3.

In the figure, 21 is a scraping plate attached to the mesh 2 of the container 3 so as to protrude inward at regular intervals in the circumferential direction, and a plant 22 (see FIG. The bulb (shown by a bulb) is picked up, transported to the entrance 15 and supplied to the sorting device 8. Reference numeral 23 denotes an insertion tube provided with an insertion valve 24, through which a raw material and a liquid medium are supplied.

The present device is configured as described above, and the liquid medium in a state where the plant is floating is stirred with the rotation of the container 3. And in the example shown in the drawing, a scraping plate is used each time the container 3 rotates.
The bulb 22 picked up in 21 is dropped into the sorting device 8 from the entrance 15. The bulbs 22 supplied to the sorting device are transported by the screw 13 toward the outlet. During the transfer, the small-sized bulbs are sorted by the mesh 14 and fall into the medium. On the other hand, the large-sized bulb is transferred to the outlet as it is and sent to the discharge pipe 18. Thereafter, discharge is performed by opening the discharge valve 17 at any time or at a stage when a certain amount has accumulated in the discharge pipe 18.

Effects of the Invention The present invention is configured as described above and has the following effects.

According to the device according to claim 1, sorting is performed inside the container, and only plants having a certain size or more are discharged,
Plants of a certain size or smaller are returned to the culture medium and continue to grow, so that cultivation can be performed efficiently without waste, and growth is promoted and uniform by stirring the culture medium. Can be

According to the apparatus of the second aspect, the medium can be stirred together with the plant by the scraping means.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, a device for driving the scraping means by attaching the scraping means to the rotating or swinging container can be omitted, and the apparatus can be simplified.

By using the scraping plate according to the fourth aspect, the structure of the scraping means can be simplified.

In the sorting means according to the fifth aspect, the sorting of the plant is performed by the mesh or the slit.

The plant can be transferred by the selection means according to the sixth or eighth aspect.

According to the sorting means of the seventh aspect, sorting can be promoted by vibrating the transport path.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of a culture apparatus according to the present invention, FIG.
The figure is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 1, 3, container, 2 mesh, 5 motor 8 sorting device, 13 screw 14 mesh, 15 inlet, 18 discharge pipe 21 scraping plate, 23 … Incoming pipe

Claims (8)

(57) [Claims] 1. A container in which a liquid medium is placed, a plant of a culture material floats or sediments in the medium, and a container that rotates or swings around one fixed axis, and scrapes the plant grown in the medium. A culturing apparatus comprising: a scraping unit; and a sorting unit that sorts out the plants scraped up by the unit according to the size, returns small-sized plants to the culture medium, and discharges large-sized plants to the outside of the container. . 2. The culture apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the scraping means rotates or rocks inside the container instead of rotating or rocking the container. 3. The culture apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the scraping means is attached to the container and rotates or swings integrally. 4. The culture apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the scraping means is a scraping plate projecting inward from the container at a predetermined interval in the circumferential direction. 5. The culture apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the selection means is provided with a mesh or a slit at a required portion or the whole. 6. The culture apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the selection means has a tapered conveying path, and the grown plant moves by gravity. 7. The culture apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the conveying path is capable of vibrating. 8. The culture apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the selection means has a spiral feeding mechanism composed of spiral blades.