CRYOPRESERVATION DEVICE

• US 20110120148A1
• Filed: 11/11/2008
• Published: 05/26/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corporation (Mitsubishi Chemical Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corporation (Mitsubishi Chemical Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Yoshimura, Shigehiro, Fujita, Mamoru, Ohta, Hidetoshi
• Granted Patent: US 8,739,556 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 62/51.1
• CPC Class Codes: A01N 1/0257 Stationary or portable vessels generating cryogenic temperatures
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 25/00 Charging, supporting, and discharging the articles to be cooled
• CPC Class Codes: F25D 3/10 using liquefied gases, e.g. liquid air for cooling semiconductor devices H01L23/445

Abstract

A cryopreservation device of the present invention includes: a cryopreservation vessel; a house which houses the cryopreservation vessel; and a handling robot provided on the house, wherein the cryopreservation vessel comprises a vessel body which holds a low-temperature liquefied gas, a cap which closes an opening section of the vessel body and has a plurality of insertion holes formed to pass through in a vertical direction, and ampoule storing tools which are housed so as to be able to pass through the insertion holes of the cap, in which the ampoule storing tools are each comprised of a support pillar and a plurality of ampoule storing sections which are attached to the support pillar so as to be arrayed in a vertical direction of the support pillar, and an ampoule-putting-in/out work hole is formed in the cap so as to pass through in a vertical direction.

Claims

1. A cryopreservation device comprising:

a cryopreservation vessel;

a house which houses the cryopreservation vessel; and

a handling robot provided on the house, wherein

the cryopreservation vessel comprises a vessel body which holds a low-temperature liquefied gas, a cap which closes an opening section of the vessel body and has a plurality of insertion holes formed to pass through in a vertical direction, and ampoule storing tools which are housed so as to be able to pass through the insertion holes of the cap, in which the ampoule storing tools are each comprised of a support pillar and a plurality of ampoule storing sections which are attached to the support pillar so as to be arrayed in a vertical direction of the support pillar, and an ampoule-putting-in/out work hole is formed in the cap so as to pass through in a vertical direction;

the house is used to take the cryopreservation vessel therein or thereout, is adjacent to the opening section of the vessel body, and has a work table provided in the vicinity of the ampoule-putting-in/out work hole; and

the handling robot comprises a gripper head by which the certain ampoule storing tool is pulled out from the insertion hole, inserted into the ampoule-putting-in/out work hole, stopped at a predetermined position, pulled out from the ampoule-putting-in/out work hole, and inserted into the original insertion hole, an input apparatus in which an identification management number of a certain ampoule is input, a bar-code reader which is provided on the work table of the house and reads an identification management number of a bar-code attached to the ampoule, and a control apparatus which controls a movement of the gripper head on the basis of the identification management number of the bar-code of the certain ampoule from the input apparatus and compares the identification management number from the input apparatus with the identification management number from the bar-code reader.

2. The cryopreservation device according to claim 1, wherein

the cryopreservation vessel further comprises sheath tubes inserted into the insertion holes of the cap, and

the ampoule storing tools are housed so as to be able to pass through the sheath tubes.