JP5057294B2 - Animal breeding room - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an animal breeding room, and more particularly to an animal breeding room that maintains a breeding environment cleanly by air conditioning equipment.

  There is an animal breeding room where animals are raised and experimented. In the animal breeding room, a plurality of small container cages in which animals are housed are installed. In the cage, in addition to the animals to be bred, food, water, and flooring are laid for breeding. In addition to cages, there is a workbench for cleaning cages and treating animals. Furthermore, the animal breeding room is provided with a temperature and humidity controlled outside air supply means and exhaust means for keeping the indoor environment clean. In such an animal breeding room, it is necessary to maintain the breeding environment at a high degree of cleanliness so that contaminants generated from animals do not flow out to the outside.

Patent Documents 1 to 3 are disclosed as techniques for keeping the breeding environment of such an animal breeding room clean.
Patent Document 1 discloses an air conditioning system in which a deodorizing device is attached to an animal breeding rack in an animal breeding room to reduce the indoor exhaust air volume and the outside air volume.

  In Patent Document 2, a differential pressure between a plurality of animal breeding rooms and a support room is maintained at a preset pressure, and the air flow between the animal breeding room and the support room is maintained in one direction to supply and exhaust air. An advanced safety facility for controlling the rotational speed of the fan is disclosed.

Patent Document 3 discloses a workbench that adds an air circulation function to the workbench to prevent dust generated during various operations such as cage cleaning from being scattered around.
JP 2003-180183 A JP 2003-23892 A JP 2000-253769 A

  However, in the animal breeding room of Patent Document 1, when working at a place other than a breeding apparatus provided with a deodorizing device, there is a problem that contaminants and the like diffuse into the room and cannot be prevented.

 Further, in Patent Document 2, the air volume is directly controlled by a variable air volume type constant air volume device, and the air volume necessary for the set pressure in normal operation is set in advance and controlled to be the air volume. Therefore, it is difficult to control according to the room pressure fluctuation in the room.

  Although the method of Patent Document 3 can be expected to be effective from the viewpoint of preventing dust diffusion in the work space, the maintainability (sterilization and cleaning) of the work table is complicated and is not considered.

In addition, neither of Patent Documents 1 and 2 mentions the air supply amount and the exhaust amount of the animal breeding room, and does not consider the reduction of the operation cost.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an animal breeding room that can solve the above-described problems, maintain indoor cleanliness, and reduce air supply and exhaust airflow.

  In order to achieve the above object, an animal breeding room according to the present invention includes an air supply means for introducing outside air controlled in temperature and humidity into a room in which an animal breeding rack is installed, and exhausts the animal breeding rack and the indoor air to the outside. Exhaust means, an air purifying unit that inhales and purifies part of the air in the room, exhausts the air into the room and circulates the air, a pressure sensor that detects the pressure in the room, and measurement of the pressure sensor And control means for controlling the air supply amount of the air supply means and the exhaust amount of the exhaust means based on the values to maintain the pressure in the room at a predetermined set value.

  According to such a configuration, the indoor air other than the animal breeding rack can be cleaned by the circulation function of the air cleaning unit. In addition, because indoor air is supplied and exhausted and circulated, the outdoor air introduction air supplied by the air supply means is greatly reduced for maintaining the indoor cleanliness, and the air conditioning energy required for the outdoor air treatment of the entire room is greatly reduced. It becomes possible.

  Further, the air purification unit is provided with a work surface having an air suction part attached to the outer periphery of the work space, and a purifying means disposed below the work surface and filtering the air sucked from the air suction part. It is good to provide the chamber box and the opening means which open | releases the inside of the said chamber box.

  According to such a configuration, it is possible to prevent the dust from being diffused due to dust generation at the time of replacing the floor covering on the work table, feeding / watering work by the air cleaning unit. Further, the cleaning of the inside of the chamber has a structure having an opening means in consideration of maintainability, so that the work table can be easily cleaned.

  According to the animal breeding room of the present invention configured as described above, an animal capable of greatly reducing the air-conditioning energy of the outside air introduced into the animal breeding room while maintaining the cleanness of the animal breeding room and maintaining the indoor set pressure. A breeding room can be provided.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of an animal breeding room of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of the animal breeding room of the present invention. The animal breeding room 10 of the present invention is mainly composed of an air supply means 20, an exhaust means 30, an animal breeding rack 40, an air cleaning unit 50, a pressure sensor 60, and a control means 70.

  The air supply means 20 includes an external air conditioner 22, an air supply duct 24, an air supply air volume adjusting means 26, and an air outlet 28, and introduces outside air into the room.

The external air conditioner 22 includes a heating coil, a cooling coil, a humidifier, and the like, and adjusts the outside air to a predetermined temperature and humidity. The temperature and humidity may be adjusted by taking in the outside air and purifying it by a filter process or the like.
The air supply duct 24 is a duct connecting the external air conditioner 22 and the air outlet 28 in the room.

  The supply air volume adjusting means 26 is attached in the middle of the air supply duct 24 and is electrically connected to the control means 70 described later. As an example, the supply air volume adjusting means 26 may be an electromagnetic on-off valve or the like. The supply air volume adjusting means 26 can adjust the air volume of the outside air introduced into the room based on the control signal of the control means 70.

  The exhaust means 30 includes an exhaust duct 32, an exhaust fan 34, an exhaust air volume adjusting means 36, an exhaust outlet 38, an animal breeding rack exhaust outlet 39, and a constant air volume control means 43, and air in the room to the outside. It is discharging.

The exhaust duct 32 is a duct having one end connected to an indoor exhaust port 38 and an animal breeding rack exhaust port 39 and the other end connected to an external exhaust fan 34.
The exhaust fan 34 is attached to the other end of the exhaust duct 32 and sucks indoor air through the exhaust duct 32 and exhausts it to the outside.

  The exhaust air volume adjusting means 36 is attached in the middle of the exhaust duct 32 and is electrically connected to the control means 70 described later. As the exhaust air volume adjusting means 36, an electromagnetic on-off valve can be used as an example, similarly to the supply air volume adjusting means 26. The exhaust air volume adjusting means 36 can adjust the air volume of the air exhausted from the room based on the control signal of the control means 70.

  The animal breeding rack 40 is provided with a plurality of cages 42 for storing and breeding experimental animals, and each cage 42 is individually supplied and exhausted. In FIG. 1, the exhaust of the animal breeding rack 40 is connected to the same exhaust duct 32 as the exhaust port 38 in the animal breeding room 10 through the animal breeding rack exhaust port 39. The exhaust duct 32 is provided with constant air volume control means 43 on a duct downstream from the animal breeding rack exhaust port 39. The constant air volume control means 43 adjusts the exhaust amount from the animal breeding rack 40 with a predetermined exhaust amount that does not affect the breeding of animals. The constant air volume control means 43 can use an electromagnetic on-off valve as an example, and can sense the static pressure in the exhaust duct connected to the animal breeding rack 40 to control the opening and adjust the exhaust amount to a constant amount. In addition, in order to adjust the exhaust amount of the animal breeding rack 40 to a constant amount, the room and the animal breeding rack 40 may be exhausted by independent exhaust ducts (two systems). In this case, the exhaust duct from the animal breeding rack 40 is newly provided with an exhaust fan as the constant air flow rate control means 43, and is exhausted at a predetermined displacement so as not to affect the animal breeding by operating at the rated value. can do.

  On the other hand, as a method of supplying air to the animal breeding rack 40, the air in the animal breeding room 10 may be supplied as shown in FIG. 1, or the temperature and humidity controlled directly from the air supply duct 24. It is good also as a structure which supplies air.

  The air cleaning unit 50 is a work table on which animals, cages, and the like can be placed on the upper surface. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the air cleaning unit. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the air purification unit. FIG. 1A is a cross-sectional view of the air cleaning unit. FIG. 2B shows a modification of the prefilter. As illustrated, the air cleaning unit 50 has a work surface 100 on the upper surface of the work table, a chamber box 120 below the work surface 100, and an opening means 130 on the side surface.

  The work surface 100 is provided with a plurality of openings 104 so as to surround the work space 102 on which animals, cages and the like are placed (along the outer periphery). The opening 104 can suck air from the upper surface of the work surface 100.

The chamber box 120 is disposed on the back side (lower side) of the work surface 100, and a fan filter unit (hereinafter referred to as FFU) 122 serving as a purification means and a sterilizer in an air flow path introduced from the opening 104 of the work surface 100. 126 is provided.
As an example, the sterilization device 126 can use an ultraviolet sterilization lamp. The sterilizing means 126 can sterilize by irradiating with ultraviolet rays having a predetermined wavelength.

  The FFU 122 is attached to the lower part of the chamber box 120. The FFU 122 is formed in the order of the pre-filter 123, the blower 124, and the high-performance filter 125 from the upstream side of the flow path. The prefilter 123 is attached to the central opening on the bottom surface of the chamber box 120 to remove dust in the air. The blower 124 is attached below the pre-filter 123 and can suck indoor air from the opening 104. The high-performance filter 125 removes fine dust in the air, and high-clean air can be obtained. The FFU 122 receives air sterilized from the sterilizer 126 by the operation of the blower 124, collects dust in the air by the pre-filter 123 and the high-performance filter 125, and removes the purified air from the lower discharge port. It is discharged indoors. The purification means is electrically connected to the control means 70 described later. The prefilter 123 can also be attached so as to cover the lower surface side of the work surface 100 in the chamber box 120 as shown in FIG.

  The opening means 130 is an opening door attached to the side surface of the chamber box 120. As shown in FIG. 2, the inside of the chamber box 120 can be opened to the outside by opening and closing the opening door.

  The pressure sensor 60 is a sensor that detects indoor pressure. The pressure sensor 60 is electrically connected to the control means 70 described later.

  The control means 70 is electrically connected to the supply air volume adjusting means 26, the exhaust air volume adjusting means 36, the pressure sensor 60, and the air cleaning unit 50. Based on the measurement value of the pressure sensor 60, the control means 70 adjusts the flow rates of the supply air amount and the exhaust air amount so as to maintain the indoor pressure at a predetermined set value.

  The animal breeding room 10 is provided with a relief damper (RD) 12 on the side wall. The relief damper 12 adjusts the pressure in the room so as to maintain the differential pressure between the adjacent rooms.

Next, the operation of the animal breeding room of the present invention having the above configuration will be described below.
First, the outside air is adjusted to a preset greenhouse temperature by the external air conditioner 22 of the air supply means 20, and the outside air adjusted to the greenhouse temperature is introduced into the animal breeding room 10 through the air supply duct 24. On the other hand, the exhaust fan 34 of the exhaust means 30 is operated to exhaust indoor air from the exhaust port 38 to the outside through the exhaust duct 32. Further, by the operation of the exhaust fan 34, the air in the animal breeding rack 40 is also exhausted from the animal breeding rack exhaust port 39 to the outside. At this time, the exhaust from the animal breeding rack 40 is controlled to a fixed exhaust air volume that does not affect the animal breeding by the constant air volume control means 43 provided on the exhaust duct 32. The animal breeding room 10 has a preset indoor pressure P set in advance. When the room is controlled at a positive pressure, the air supplied to the animal breeding room 10 is added to the total air volume of the exhaust volume of the animal breeding rack 40 and the exhaust volume exhausted from the exhaust port 38 for exhausting the indoor air. Therefore, it is necessary to constantly supply the air volume including the air volume exhausted from the relief damper 12.

  Here, a general laboratory animal facility creates a microbiological barrier by providing a pressure difference between the animal breeding room and other rooms (anterior room, corridor, etc.), and pathogenic microorganisms move from the contaminated area to the barrier area. I try to prevent intrusion. As an example, the animal breeding room in the barrier system has a room pressure set higher by 10 Pa to 20 Pa or more in the order of the outside, the hallway, and the breeding room. In the present invention, the set pressure P in the animal breeding room 10 is set to P> 20 Pa. The control means 70 monitors the operating condition of the air cleaning unit 50 and the pressure in the room by the pressure sensor 60. Then, based on the measured value of the pressure sensor 60, a control signal is sent to the electrically connected supply air volume adjusting means 26 and the exhaust air volume adjusting means 36 to control the air volume of the outside air to be supplied and the air to be exhausted. Of these, the amount of exhaust from the animal breeding rack 40 is a fixed air volume because it does not affect animal breeding, so the amount of exhaust from the exhaust port 38 of the animal breeding room 10 is controlled. And if the air purification unit 50 is operated and the amount of intake air in the air purification unit 50 is set as the circulation air volume, the cleanliness of the room can be maintained. It is possible to reduce the energy consumption.

  It is also possible to detect the cleanliness in the animal breeding room instead of the operating state of the air purification unit 50 and control the air supply air volume and the exhaust air volume. Specifically, for monitoring the cleanliness, a particle counter is installed in the animal breeding room 10. Here, the installation location of the particle counter can be attached to the wall in the breeding room, the exhaust port 38, the air cleaning unit 50, or the like. Then, the number of floating particles in the indoor space is detected, and the supply air amount and the exhaust air amount are controlled based on the difference from the predetermined number of floating particles in the room. Further, the operation of the air cleaning unit 50 may be controlled based on the detected value of the number of suspended particles.

  On the other hand, the air purification unit 50 arranged indoors sucks indoor air from the opening 104 of the work surface 100 when performing animal treatment or the like in the work space 102 of the work surface 100. From the air introduced from the opening surface, dust in the air is removed by high-performance filtering of the FFU 122 disposed in the flow path of the chamber box 120. The filtered air is exhausted into the room from the exhaust port of the FFU 122. Since the air purification unit 50 supplies and exhausts indoor air and circulates it, it does not affect the indoor pressure.

  The air cleaning unit 50 is provided with an opening means 130 so that the chamber box 120 can be easily cleaned after the work such as replacement of flooring is completed in the work space 102. The opening means 130 may be configured such that a slide mechanism is provided on the side of the chamber box 120 so that the chamber box 120 attached below the work surface 100 is slid forward and pulled out. The chamber box 120 has a simple structure with no protrusions or ducts. The inner corner portion may be processed to be R-processed for easy cleaning. The measurement switch 127 may be installed on the side surface and a timer function for the sterilizer may be added. A fall prevention fence 128 is provided on the outer periphery of the work surface 100.

  This unit functions as a local exhaust device that prevents the diffusion of microorganisms, dust, and the like generated from a floor covering replacement operation during work, and may be operated as the air purification unit 50 when not working indoors.

  The sterilization device 126 of the chamber box 120 is operated after the work is finished and the inside of the chamber box 120 is cleaned (such as alcohol wiping) to prevent internal microbial contamination.

  According to such an animal breeding room of the present invention, it is possible to greatly reduce the air-conditioning energy required for the outside air treatment by greatly reducing the outside air introduction air supplied by the air supply means for maintaining the indoor cleanliness. Become. The operation of the cleaning unit only circulates the internal air, and the indoor pressure does not change.

It is a figure which shows the structure outline of the animal breeding room of this invention. It is a perspective view of an air purification unit. It is explanatory drawing of an air purification unit.

Explanation of symbols

10 ......... Animal rearing room, 12 ......... Relief damper (RD), 20 ......... Air supply means, 22 ......... External air conditioner, 24 ......... Air supply duct, 26 ......... Air supply air volume adjustment Means 28... Air outlet 30... Exhaust means 32 ... Exhaust duct 34 ... Exhaust fan 36 36 Exhaust air volume adjustment means 38 38 Exhaust outlet 39 Animal rearing rack exhaust port, 40 ......... Animal rearing rack, 42 ......... Cage, 43 ......... Constant air flow control means, 50 ......... Air cleaning unit, 60 ......... Pressure sensor, 70 ......... Control Means 100... Work surface 102... Work space 104... Opening 120... Chamber box 122... Fan filter unit (FFU) 123 123 Prefilter 124. ... Blower, 125 ... High-performance filter, 126 ...... sterilizer, 127 ......... measurement switch 128 ......... Railing, 130 ......... opening means.

Claims (1)

An air supply means for introducing temperature-humidity controlled outside air into the room where the animal breeding rack is installed,
Exhaust means for exhausting the animal breeding rack and the indoor air to the outside;
A working surface having an air suction portion attached to the outer periphery of the working space; a chamber box disposed below the working surface and attached with a purifying means for filtering and filtering air sucked from the air suction portion; and An air purifying unit for opening and purifying a part of the air in the room, and exhausting the air into the room to circulate the air.
A pressure sensor for detecting the pressure in the room;
Control means for controlling the air supply amount of the air supply means and the exhaust amount of the exhaust means based on the measured value of the pressure sensor to maintain the pressure in the room at a predetermined set value;
An animal breeding room characterized by comprising:

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