JP5759805B2 - Temperature management system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a temperature management system. More specifically, the present invention relates to a temperature management system that accommodates investigational drugs and other drugs, blood, body fluids, urine, human organs, and other desired objects and manages them at a desired temperature. The present invention is mainly used for transfer, delivery, and transportation, but is also used for storage.

  Conventionally, when transporting, delivering, and transporting drugs such as investigational drugs, various specimens, and other various objects that require temperature control, a heat insulating container, a heat insulating container, or other heat insulating containers are generally used. Many heat insulating containers used for the above purposes have been proposed in various structures and types (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 to 4).

  For example, certain investigational drugs and the like are required to be delivered and transported under temperature control so as to maintain a specific temperature (2 ° C. to 8 ° C.). Overcooling to the lower temperature of 2 ° C. or lower of the investigational drug or the like causes problems, and even if the upper limit of 8 ° C. is exceeded, problems arise.

  Therefore, conventionally, for example, a temperature management method as shown in FIG. 6 has been implemented or attempted. Hereinafter, the problems of the conventional method will be described with reference to FIG.

  Each of the temperature management methods shown in FIG. 6 discloses a method in which a heat storage agent 10 (cold storage agent) is housed in a heat insulating container 1 such as a heat insulating container or a heat insulating container and the temperature is managed. The heat storage agent 10 is composed of a heat storage agent (cold storage agent) having a melting point of 0 ° C. This cold storage agent is used after being cooled to -15 ° C to -25 ° C. Each container 1 of FIG. 6 shows a cross-sectional view.

FIG. 6A shows an example (first method) in which a heat storage agent 10 (hereinafter sometimes referred to as “cool storage agent 10”) is stored on the rear side in the container 1.
FIG. 6B shows an example (second method) in which the regenerator 10 is accommodated on the front side and the rear side in the container 1.
FIG. 6C shows an example (third method) in which the regenerator 10 is accommodated on the front and rear side and both side sides in the container 1.
FIG. 6D shows an example (fourth method) in which the cool storage agent is accommodated on the front and rear side and both side portions in the container 1 by increasing the number of sheets by the third method.

However, the first to fourth methods have the following problems.
(1) Problem of variation in internal temperature In the first method, the internal temperature varies in proportion to the difference in distance (distance) from the regenerator 1. That is, the internal temperature increases in proportion to the difference in distance from the cold storage agent. The temperature difference increases as the insulation performance of the container decreases.
(2) Problem of excessive cooling at the beginning of transportation The second and third methods have problems of excessive cooling at the beginning of transportation. That is, when the regenerator cooled to minus 15 ° C. to 25 ° C. is used as it is, there is a problem that the inside of the vessel, and therefore the contents (such as investigational drug) in the vessel, are excessively cooled in the initial stage. Overcooling increases in proportion to the number of cool storage agents and increases as the heat insulating performance of the container increases. The above problem can be solved by using the regenerator after leaving it in a constant temperature environment for a certain period of time until it is close to its melting point temperature. However, this method requires a lot of labor and causes a problem of deteriorating operational efficiency. Further, when the cold storage agent is used at the melting point temperature, there arises a problem that the effective cold insulation time is shortened.
(3) Problem of deviation of lower limit temperature due to cold storage agent When the number of cold storage agents used is increased as in the fourth method, a problem of deviation from the lower limit temperature (2 ° C.) occurs. Conversely, if the number of cool storage agents used is reduced, the problem of deviation from the upper limit occurs.
(4) Problem of deviation of lower limit temperature due to minus outside air temperature Any of the first to fourth methods causes a problem of deviating from the lower limit temperature when the outside air temperature is lower than the melting point of the regenerator.
(5) Problem of upper / lower limit temperature deviation due to plus → minus outside air temperature In any of the first to fourth methods, for example, when the outside air temperature at the departure place and the destination is different, the problem of deviation of the lower limit temperature or the upper limit temperature. Occurs.

  Further, for example, there is an object that is required to be delivered and transported under temperature control so as to maintain a temperature of 10 ° C. to 15 ° C. or 15 ° C. to 25 ° C. Conventionally, a temperature management method using a cold storage agent (heat storage agent) having a melting point temperature corresponding to the temperature in the temperature range has been attempted. However, since the said cool storage agent (heat storage agent) generally has low latent heat of fusion and a low cooling effect, a large amount of cool storage agent (heat storage agent) is required. In addition, there is a problem that pre-processing is necessary and operation is difficult, resulting in high costs. Furthermore, there is a problem that the effect cannot be exhibited at a negative outside temperature.

  As described above, the temperature management method has the above-described problems. However, no temperature management system that can solve the above problem has been proposed yet.

Utility Model Registration No. 3162492 JP 2007-126188 A JP 2002-29573 A Utility Model Registration No. 3052676

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a temperature management system that solves the above-described problems and can stably and satisfactorily manage various desired objects while maintaining a predetermined temperature. It is the purpose.

One aspect of the present invention (first invention), a thermal management system for managing and holding the object to a predetermined temperature by housing the various desired object,
A heat-insulating container having a heat-insulating container body, and a heat-insulating container and an opening / closing lid that opens and closes the opening of the container body;
A heat conductive inner container having a heat conductive container body and a heat conductive open / close lid, and storing the object and being stored in the container main body so as to be put in and out;
A desired number of lower first and second heat storage agents;
A desired number of upper side first and second heat storage agents,
Each of the first heat storage agent on the lower side and the upper side is composed of a heat storage agent having substantially the same melting point,
Each of the second heat storage agent on the lower side and the upper side is composed of a heat storage agent having substantially the same melting point and a melting point lower than the melting point temperature of the first heat storage agent,
The second heat storage agent on the lower side is disposed on the bottom side in the container body,
The first heat storage agent on the lower side is placed in a surface contact with the second heat storage agent on the lower side, and is placed on the surface.
The inner container is placed in contact with the first heat storage agent on the lower side,
The first heat storage agent on the upper side is placed in contact with the inner container,
The second heat storage agent on the upper side is placed on the first heat storage agent on the upper side so as to be superposed and placed, and the temperature of the object stored in the inner container is controlled. It is characterized by that.

In the present invention, the term “heat insulating container” is used as a concept including a heat insulating container, a heat insulating container, a heat insulating storage box, a heat insulating storage, or a heat insulating bag.
In addition, the terms “lower side and upper side” of “the first and second heat storage agents on the lower side” and “the first and second heat storage agents on the upper side” are used for the sake of convenience in understanding the explanation. It is what was used. That is, in the present invention, the “lower first heat storage agent” and the “upper first heat storage agent” are composed of the same or substantially the same heat storage agent. Therefore, both can be used in common for the lower side and upper side parts without distinction. Furthermore, the “second heat storage agent on the lower side and the upper side” can be used in common in the upper and lower sides without being distinguished in the same manner as the first heat storage agent.

  If comprised as mentioned above, the cold heat from a 1st heat storage agent will be absorbed by the 2nd heat storage agent, and the solidification heat of the freezing point of a 2nd heat storage agent will be thermally conducted into the said inner container. In this way, the cold heat of the first heat storage agent is not directly conducted to the inner container, but the second heat storage agent absorbs once and the solidification heat of the second heat storage agent is conducted to the inner container. It is. Therefore, it is possible to efficiently conduct heat of solidification at a predetermined temperature from the second heat storage agent into the inner container.

As described above, the cold heat of the second heat storage agent is absorbed by the first heat storage agent, and the heat of solidification of the first heat storage agent is conducted into the inner container, so that the object stored in the inner container is predetermined. Cooling to a temperature below the lower limit can be prevented. In addition, the internal temperature can be kept uniform.

One other aspect of the present invention (second invention) is in the first invention, the respective first heat storage agent, the respective second heat storage material causes the heat-desired value temperature higher than the freezing point of the heat storage agent Is characterized in that it is used after being stored at a desired low temperature from the freezing point of the heat storage agent.

Still another invention of the present invention ( third invention) is the first or second invention, wherein the second heat storage agent is 3 ° C. to 10 ° C. lower than the melting point temperature of the first heat storage agent. It is composed of a heat storage agent having a melting point.

Still another invention of the present invention ( fourth invention) is a temperature management method, and holds any desired various objects at a predetermined temperature using any one of the first to third temperature management systems. It is characterized by management.

According to the present invention, the following operational effects can be obtained.
(1) The temperature of the investigational drug, specimen, and other various objects can be controlled stably and satisfactorily while maintaining a predetermined set temperature.
(2) The temperature holding time by the heat storage agent can be lengthened.
(3) The problem of variation in the internal temperature can be solved and the temperature can be kept substantially uniform.
(4) Overcooling in the initial stage can be prevented.
(5) The problem of deviation of the lower limit temperature due to negative outside air temperature can be solved.
(6) The problem of deviation of the upper and lower limit temperatures due to fluctuations in the outside air temperature can be solved.
(7) It becomes possible to improve operational efficiency.
(8) Equipment costs can be reduced.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a figure which shows the basic composition part of the temperature management system of one Embodiment of this invention roughly, Comprising: The same figure (a) is a perspective view which shows the structure of an example of a heat insulation container, The same figure (b) ) Is a perspective view schematically showing the configuration of an example of a thermally conductive inner container, and FIG. 8C is an explanatory view schematically showing the first and second heat storage agents. It is a figure which shows schematically the structure of the heat insulation container shown to Fig.1 (a), Comprising: The figure (a) is a center longitudinal cross-section explanatory front view of a closed state, The figure (b) is a container main body. It is a cross-sectional explanatory plan view. It is explanatory drawing which shows roughly the structure of the state which is implementing the temperature management system of one Embodiment of this invention. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of the said temperature management system. It is explanatory drawing which shows roughly the structure of the state which is implementing the temperature management system of other embodiment of this invention. 6 (a) to 6 (d) are explanatory diagrams for explaining an example of a conventional temperature management method and its problems.

  Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of a temperature management system of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  1 to 4 show a temperature management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The temperature management system according to the present embodiment (Embodiment 1) includes a heat insulating container 2, a heat conductive inner container 3, a desired number of lower side first heat storage agents 4A, and a desired number of lower side containers. A second heat storage agent 5A, a desired number of upper side first heat storage agents 4B, and a desired number of upper side second heat storage agents 5B are provided.

The pods but 2 can be configured on the structure and type of arbitrary, it is preferable to adopt a heat insulating performance higher configuration.

  The container 2 of the present embodiment is formed in a substantially square heat insulating container shape. The container 2 includes a container body 20 having heat insulation and an upper end opened (opening 21), and an opening / closing lid 22 having heat insulation and opening and closing the opening 21 of the body 20. .

  The container body 2 includes a front wall 23a and a rear wall 23b opposed to the front and rear, side walls 23c and 23d opposed to the left and right, and a bottom wall 23e (see FIG. 2A), and is formed in a substantially rectangular cross section. Yes. A planar fastener 24a is fixedly attached to the outer wall surface near the upper ends of the front wall 23a and the side walls 23c and 23d.

  The opening / closing lid 22 includes flaps 25a, 25b, and 25c extending from the left and right edges and the front edge. A planar fastener 24b that is detachably engaged with the fastener 24a is fixedly attached to the inner surface of each flap 25a, 25b, 25c.

  The container 2 of the present embodiment has the above-described configuration, and the opening 21 is closed by the opening / closing lid portion 22, and the flaps of the lid portion 22 are pressed against the front wall and both side walls of the main body 20 to form a planar fastener 24 a. , 24b so as to be detachably attached. In addition, as above-mentioned, the container 2 can employ | adopt the thing of arbitrary structures other than illustration.

The container 2 is formed in a desired size. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2 (a), when the lid is closed, the height outside dimension Y _{1 is} about 380 cm and the inside dimension Y _{2 is} 300 cm. Further, as shown in FIG. 2B, the main body 20 has an outer dimension X _{1 of} lateral width (left and right width): about 500 cm, an inner dimension X ₂ : about 420 cm, an outer dimension X _{3 of} front and rear width: about 445 cm, and an inner side. Dimension X ₄ is formed to be about 365 cm. In addition, as above-mentioned, the magnitude | size of the container 2 can be changed arbitrarily.

The inner container 3 includes a container main body 30 having thermal conductivity and having an upper end opened (opening 31), and an open / close lid 32 having thermal conductivity and opening and closing the opening 31. For the inner container 3, a material having high heat conductivity is selected and adopted.
Examples of the material having high heat conduction include aluminum, an aluminum alloy, and copper. In this embodiment, an aluminum inner container is employed. However, it is not limited to the materials exemplified above.

  The inner container 3 accommodates various desired desired objects 6 (see FIG. 3) and accommodates them in and out of the container 2. Accordingly, the size of the inner container 3 is set corresponding to the size of the inside (the storage chamber) of the storage device 2. Further, a desired number of first and second heat storage agents 4A, 4B, 5A, 5B are arranged and accommodated in the container 2 above and below the inner container. Therefore, the size of the inner container 3 is formed to be a size that can be accommodated in the container 2 by forming an appropriate storage space for storing a desired number of heat storage agents.

  The first and second heat storage agents 4A, 4B, 5A, and 5B are selected and used as a heat storage agent having a melting point temperature corresponding to a predetermined temperature zone that is housed and temperature-controlled. The first heat storage agent conducts heat of solidification to the inner container. In addition, the second heat storage agent causes the first heat storage agent to absorb cold heat.

  As the first heat storage agents 4A and 4B, a heat storage agent having a melting point temperature within a predetermined temperature range for temperature control, for example, a heat storage agent having a melting point temperature near the lower limit or about the middle of the temperature range can be adopted. As the second heat storage agents 5A and 5B, a heat storage agent having a melting point temperature lower than the lower limit of the temperature zone, for example, a melting point temperature lower by about 3 ° C. to 10 ° C. than the lower limit temperature can be adopted.

  Hereinafter, in this embodiment, the case where temperature control is performed in a temperature range of 2 ° C. to 8 ° C. will be specifically described as an example. As the first heat storage agent, for example, a heat storage agent having a melting point of 3 ° C to 5 ° C can be employed. As the second heat storage agent, a heat storage agent having a melting point of 0 ° C. (generally referred to as a cold storage agent) can be employed.

In this embodiment, as the first heat storage agents 4A and 4B, a heat storage agent (trade name: Thermopack , registered trademark) manufactured by Sgiamagen, Inc. having a melting point of 4 ° C. (freezing point of 3.5 ° C.) was employed. In addition, as the second heat storage agent 5A, 5B, a heat storage agent manufactured by Adeka Chemical Supply Co., Ltd. having a melting point of 0 ° C. (trade name: Evacool 1000W / 500N, registered trademark) was employed. This second heat storage agent is generally called a cold storage agent.

  In the present embodiment, two sheets of the first heat storage agent of 2000 g / sheet (one for the lower side and the other for the upper side) were used. As the second heat storage agent, four 1000g / sheet (two for the lower side and the other two for the upper side) were used.

The temperature management system of this embodiment is implemented by the following procedures, for example. The second heat storage agents 5A and 5B are stored in a freezer at -15 ° C or lower for 10 hours or more and cooled to about -20 ° C.
The first heat storage agents 4A and 4B are stored in a refrigerator at 4 ° C. or higher (for example, about 6.5 ° C.) for 3 hours or longer and cooled (heat storage) to about 6.5 ° C. (temperature above the freezing point).

Next, as shown in FIG. 3, the lid portion 22 of the container 2 is opened, and the lower-side second heat storage agent 5 </ b> A (which may be the upper-side second heat storage agent 5 </ b> B) taken out of the freezer is attached to the main body 20. It is thrown into the bottom side and arranged (in the figure, two heat storage agents 5A are arranged side by side).
Next, the lower-side first heat storage agent 4A taken out from the refrigerator (or the upper-side first heat storage agent 4B) may be placed in contact with the heat storage agent 5A in a superposed manner.

Next, the inner container 3 containing the target object 6 is placed in contact with the first heat storage agent 4A and placed in the container.
Next, the upper first heat storage agent 4B taken out from the refrigerator is placed on the inner container 3 in contact with the first heat storage agent 4B.

  Next, after placing the second heat storage agent 5B on the upper side taken out from the freezer in surface contact with the first heat storage agent 4B and placing it thereon, the container 2 is closed.

  According to the above, the cold heat from the upper and lower second heat storage agents 5A and 5B (initially about -20 ° C. but becomes 0 ° C. after about 2 to 3 hours) is the upper and lower first heat storage agents in the melted state. The first heat storage agents 4A and AB are solidified by being absorbed by 4A and 4B. And since the solidification heat (about 3.5 degreeC-about 4 degreeC) of the freezing point (3.5 degreeC) of a 1st thermal storage agent is thermally conducted in the inner container 3, the object 6 in an inner container is the said temperature. To be cooled. Thereby, the temperature of the object 6 is controlled while maintaining a predetermined temperature.

  FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing a state in which a temperature management system according to another embodiment (Embodiment 2) of the present invention is implemented.

  The temperature management system according to the second embodiment is configured by placing the first and second heat storage agents 4A and 4B on the lower side and the upper side in contact with each other (total of four sheets) and superposing them in the container body 20 for polymerization. It is a thing. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

  When configured as in the second embodiment, the cold heat from the upper and lower second heat storage agents 5A and 5B is absorbed by the first heat storage agents 4A and 4B arranged in contact with the second heat storage agent. The heat of solidification of one heat storage agent is thermally conducted to the upper and lower second heat storage agents 4A and 4B arranged in contact with the inner container 3. Then, the solidification heat of each of the heat storage agents 4A and 4B in contact with the inner container 3 is conducted into the inner container 3 to cool the object 6 in the inner container at the above temperature. Thereby, the temperature of the object 6 is controlled while maintaining a predetermined temperature.

  According to the second embodiment, it is possible to improve the effect of preventing the upper and lower limit temperatures from deviating due to fluctuations in the outside air temperature. The first embodiment also exhibits the effect of preventing the deviation of the upper and lower limit temperatures due to fluctuations in the outside air temperature.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the temperature control is performed in the temperature range of 2 ° C. to 8 ° C. has been described as an example. However, the present invention is, for example, a desired temperature range such as 10 ° C. to 15 ° C. It can be applied to a temperature management system that maintains the temperature of

  When temperature control is performed in the above temperature range, the first and second heat storage agents corresponding to each temperature range are selected and adopted, and the temperature control can be performed by performing the same procedure as described above. it can. Note that the first and second heat storage agents can be increased or decreased as desired. However, the upper side and lower side heat storage agents are used on condition that at least one of each of the first and second heat storage agents is used in combination.

(Test example)
Next, an example of a test example will be described. In this test example, the temperature control at 2 ° C. to 8 ° C. was performed substantially in accordance with the method described in the first embodiment. This test example is a temperature measurement test. In the following description, the first and second heat storage agents are simply expressed in terms of the first heat storage agent and the second heat storage agent without distinguishing between the lower side and the upper side.

<Temperature measurement test conditions>
Container used: heat-insulating container according to Embodiment 1 First heat storage agent: Melting point 4 ° C. (freezing point 3.5 ° C.), 2000 g / sheet of two heat storage agents used (one above and below)
Input conditions: Put in a 6.5 ° C refrigerator for 3 hours, cool to 6.5 ° C (heat storage), take out from the refrigerator, and then put directly into the container. Second heat storage agent: melting point 0 ° C (freezing point 0 ° C ), 4 pieces of 1000g / sheet heat storage agent are used (2 pieces each on the top and bottom)
Input conditions: Place in a -20 ° C freezer for 10 hours, cool to -20 ° C, take out from the freezer, and then put directly into the container. Inner vessel: Uses an aluminum inner vessel

The temperature in the inner container accommodated in the container was measured under the above conditions. The temperature measurement was carried out for each of the middle central part P ₁ , the lower middle part P ₂ , the middle side part P ₃ , and the lower side part P ₄ (implementation time: 48 hours) in the inner container (see FIG. 4). ). The measurement results are shown in Table 1 below.
In Table 1 below, “R” in the uppermost column indicates the temperature around the container in the test chamber, and “T” in the lowermost column indicates time. In Table _1, numerical values of each column of P 1 to P ₄ are temperature (units: ° C.) shows a. The numerical value in the “R” column indicates the temperature around the container (unit: ° C.).

As apparent from Table 1 above, the temperature of each part of P _{1 to} P _{4 in} the inner container at the start of the test is about 18 ° C., which exceeds the upper limit temperature (8 ° C.) at the beginning of the test. It can be seen that the temperature falls sharply from 0.4 hours to 0.5 hours. That is, after 0.4 hours from the start of the test, each part P ₁ ... P ₄ is cooled to a temperature of about 10 ° C., and after 0.5 hours, it is cooled to a temperature within the upper limit (8 ° C.).

  Then, after about 1 hour from the start, the temperature becomes about 6 ° C., and after 2 hours, it becomes 5 ° C. or less. In addition, it gradually decreases in proportion to the time from 2 hours to about 35 hours to about 3.5 ° C. to about 3.7 ° C., then gradually increases, and after about 48 hours, 4.0 to about 4.5 ° C.

As described above, the temperature is cooled to the upper limit after 0.5 hours from the start of the test, and reaches about 6 ° C. after 1 hour. The temperature is maintained at about 4.8 to about 3.5 ° C. for 2 to 48 hours. Thus, after about 0.5 hours have elapsed from the start, each part can be stably maintained at a temperature within a predetermined temperature range (2 ° C. to 8 ° C.) without departing from the upper and lower temperature limits. There was found. It was also demonstrated that each of the parts P _{1 to} P ₄ can be maintained at a substantially uniform temperature.

  Each embodiment described above is disclosed as an example, and the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and can be arbitrarily changed within the scope not departing from the technical idea described in the claims. It is a thing.

2 thermal insulation pods 3 thermal conductivity of the inner container 4A lower side of the first heat storage agent 4B upper portion side of the first heat storage agent 5A lower portion side of the second heat storage agent 5B upper side of the second heat storage agent 6 objects

Claims (4)

A temperature management system for storing various desired objects and maintaining and managing the objects at a predetermined temperature,
A heat-insulating container having a heat-insulating container body, and a heat-insulating container and an opening / closing lid that opens and closes the opening of the container body;
A heat conductive inner container having a heat conductive container body and a heat conductive open / close lid, and storing the object and being stored in the container main body so as to be put in and out;
A desired number of lower first and second heat storage agents;
A desired number of upper side first and second heat storage agents,
Each of the first heat storage agent on the lower side and the upper side is composed of a heat storage agent having substantially the same melting point,
Each of the second heat storage agent on the lower side and the upper side is composed of a heat storage agent having substantially the same melting point and a melting point lower than the melting point temperature of the first heat storage agent,
The second heat storage agent on the lower side is disposed on the bottom side in the container body,
The first heat storage agent on the lower side is placed in a surface contact with the second heat storage agent on the lower side, and is placed on the surface.
The inner container is placed in contact with the first heat storage agent on the lower side,
The first heat storage agent on the upper side is placed in contact with the inner container,
The second heat storage agent on the upper side is placed on the first heat storage agent on the upper side so as to be superposed and placed, and the temperature of the object stored in the inner container is controlled. A temperature management system characterized by that. Wherein each of the first heat storage agent, the respective second heat storage material causes the heat-desired value temperature higher than the freezing point of the heat storage agent, and characterized by the use in the heat-desired value temperature lower than the freezing point of the heat storage agent The temperature management system according to claim 1 . The second heat storage agent is characterized by being composed by the first to third free ° C. than the melting point temperature of the heat storage agent 10 ° C. cold melting point of the heat storage agent, thermal management system according to claim 1 or 2 . Wherein the claims 1 to utilizing the thermal management system of any of 3 manages to retain various desired object to a predetermined temperature, the temperature control method.

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